A Different Time, A Better Time Series:  Tale One
by TigerRat
Summary: Tale One: To Each His OwnThis story is different than most Xena stories. This is a Different time where Xena still lives at home in Amphipolis but still manages to become a great warrior. Along the way she falls in love with a Prince.
1. Chapter 1

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. Just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played. So the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. lol If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if its too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination.

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together. There is no more violence than your regular Xena episode.

**Chapter One: the Beginning: the lives of Ulysses and Xena**

It was a beautiful clear night; the moon was high in the sky and the stars were shining brightly. Below the sky was one of the most beautiful islands; an island with a great and loving King with a beautiful, intelligent Queen at his side. They had two beautiful children, one son and one daughter. On this island during the day you could see the most beautiful green grass for miles, along with the tress and a beautiful variety of flowers that covered the land. The mountains seemed like they could reach the sky which was as blue and clear as the water that surrounded the island.

During the night the island was totally calm as was the water and the sky above was so clear, if you had the time you could look up and count the millions beyond millions of stars. In the beautiful and wonderful kingdom the people were happy and they had peaceful times; this would seem to be an island of dreams for many people of Greece, of the world who sought a refuge like this every day, whether it be a place or in their minds. This island of dreams was called Ithaca and it was as real as the sun that rose every morning and set every evening. The King was named Julian and he had been king for as long as the people could remember; his Queen was named Marguerite and she was a beautiful, wise Queen who stood by her husband's side and shared as much as she could in his burdens.

Their two children; the oldest named Ulysses and the youngest named Camilla, both bright and strong in their own right, but only one would be called to rule when King Julian died or stepped down. Ulysses was a handsome young man at the age of 25, yet he seemed to be wise beyond his years. He was a strong young man; he was the best at the academy on Ithaca when it came to training and when it came to his studies. He was the type of man a father would be proud to call his son and King Julian was indeed proud, but Ulysses seemed to be a restless soul. It was on one of those clear nights that Ulysses sat on the railing of his balcony to his room and looked down at the kingdom that was just falling asleep. He let out a breath as he looked over the city then out at the island; he closed his eyes and let the breeze blow over his face and hair. _'Is this all I'm meant for?'_ He asked himself then let out a breath as he listened hard and long as the waves crashed against the shores. _'I want more out of this life than what is expected of me. There has to be more out there, more to see, more to do, maybe then I wouldn't feel this ache in my chest, this ache that says I'm alone even though I have family and friends all around me.'_

He thought to himself and he continued to think, he was thinking so much that he didn't hear the knock at his bedroom door or if he did hear it he ignored it. Marguerite was worried about her son, he seemed so quiet and withdrawn lately and she wondered what was bothering him. Julian was still seeing to kingdom business at this late hour so she left their rooms and headed to Ulysses' rooms. When she knocked and got no answer she tried again and once more and when there was still no answer she tried the door to see if it was open. When she found that it was, she walked into the room closing the door behind her then walked into Ulysses' bedroom, she didn't see him there but she saw the balcony doors open, so she walked over to them. When she was there she stood by the doors and looked at her son, "hello mother," Ulysses said and Marguerite grinned at her son. "So you did here me knock then?" Marguerite asked and Ulysses shook his head, "no, but I heard you when you walked into the room." Ulysses said and Marguerite nodded, "how did you know it was me? It could've been your sister or your father or maybe even Virgil."

Marguerite said and Ulysses turned and looked at his mother, "first of all I knew it was you because you smell of lilacs all the time, even when I was a child." He said with a grin and Marguerite smiled at him, "secondly, Camilla makes so much noise before she even gets into the room. Dad thinks or hopes I'm in here with a woman doing the things a man should be doing so he doesn't come to my room afraid he might interrupt something and Virgil is in his room or in an Inn, no doubt doing the things a man should be doing." Ulysses said and Marguerite grinned and nodded, "and you didn't want to be out with Virgil having fun?" She asked and Ulysses let out a breath and looked back over the island, "I wasn't in the mood." He said and Marguerite nodded as she looked at him, "Ulysses I'm your mother and I believe I have the right to ask this so…" Marguerite was about to say and Ulysses turned and looked at her with a grin on his face. "Mother to save you from the stress of the question you were about to ask me, I haven't been a virgin since I was sixteen or seventeen I think, more like seventeen."

Ulysses said and Marguerite looked at him and nodded, "oh…okay I was just wondering," she said and Ulysses let out a breath. "Would it have made you feel more at ease if you would have found a naked woman asleep in my bed?" Ulysses asked and his mother shook her head, "no, I just worry about you Ulysses. You seem so unhappy lately." Marguerite said and Ulysses let out a breath. "I feel lost, like there is more I should be doing; I understand that to rule Ithaca one day is my destiny but is that all I'm meant for? Is that all I'm meant to do with my life?" Ulysses asked and Marguerite walked out onto the balcony and looked at her son, "oh Ulysses you are meant for more I believe, just like I believe you sister is meant to do more in her life than just be a princess. So you want to travel the world, do some things you've never done, see things you've never seen?"

Marguerite asked and Ulysses let out another breath, "yes, but I have a life time to do that so that's not what I'm completely talking about." Ulysses said, "then tell me my son what bothers you, what's pulling at your heart?" Marguerite asked and Ulysses looked at her then out at the island, "I feel like I should be looking for something. Something important and if I don't find it then I'll be lost. I don't know, I just…I just feel empty and alone, like there's this greater purpose and I'm supposed to be apart of it, but how can I, when my ties and my responsibilities are here?" Ulysses asked then got down off the railing and faced his mother who looked into her son's eyes, "tell me what I'm looking for momma," he said in such a soft voice and she walked up closer to him placing her hand on his cheek as she looked into his eyes where she did in fact see that he felt lost. "Oh my son I can't tell you that, only you know what is written in your heart," Marguerite said and Ulysses looked into her eyes. "I do however have faith that one day you will find what it is that you think you've lost or what it is you think will help you find yourself."

She said and Ulysses nodded then closed his eyes as his mother pulled him down and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Why don't you go see Penelope, talk to her and see if she can help you," Marguerite said and Ulysses shook his head. "Penelope is a nice woman but she's not the one for me, although father believes otherwise," Ulysses said and Marguerite nodded. "Alright then get some rest," she said and Ulysses nodded as he continued to look out over the island and Marguerite looked at him a while longer then left her son to his thoughts. She made her way back to her chambers and when she got to the bedroom she found Julian sitting on the bed in his robe reading a scroll. "Where have you been my love?" Julian asked as he looked up from the scroll and looked at his wife who walked over to him. "Checking on our son," she said and Julian looked at him, "is he ill?" He asked and Marguerite shook her head as she sat down next to him, "no, but haven't you noticed that he doesn't seem himself lately, like something is bothering him?"

Marguerite asked and Julian looked at her, "I'm sure its nothing, Ulysses is a strong man, I'm sure whatever may be bothering him won't bother him for long," Julian said then stood and walked over to the desk where he sat the scroll down. "I don't think that's the case, he feels lost Julian he's told me so himself and I could see it in his eyes," Marguerite said as she stood and approached her husband and he looked at her. "I have noticed a change in him yes, but I thought perhaps he and Penelope were having a few problems. Perhaps there is more to it, I'll talk with him tomorrow," Julian said then placed his hand on Marguerite's cheek. "Don't worry about it our son will be fine," Julian said then leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his wife's lips. "Come, lets go to bed, I'm tired and I have an early start in the morning," Julian said as he walked over to the bed and removed his robe and Marguerite looked at her husband who was wearing his silk pajamas. She walked over to him placing her hand on his arm and he turned and looked at her.

"Are you sure you're ready to go to sleep?" She asked as she walked up closer to him and Julian looked into her eyes a small grin playing at his lips. "And if not sleep, what did you have in mind my love?" He asked her and she grinned at him as she began to unbutton his shirt, "whatever comes to mind," she said and he grinned then closed his eyes as she pressed her lips against his in a soft kiss. His arm snaked around her waist and when the kiss ended he caressed her cheek as he looked into the eyes of his beautiful and loving wife, "and who am I do deny my Queen?" He asked with a grin and she smiled at him as she pulled his shirt off of his shoulders. "Who indeed?" She said then leaned back in for a kiss and that night King and Queen made passionate love to each other showing themselves that they may look old, but their actions said otherwise.

Morning came and Ulysses found himself sitting at the head of the table with twelve other men around him, six on each side who talked their heads off about one thing or another concerning Ithaca. They were King Julian's advisors and would on day be Ulysses' advisors if he didn't kill them; he sat forward placing his elbows on the table as he used one had to rub his temple. He wasn't supposed to be here but his father seemed to be having a late start so they came straight for Ulysses; Ulysses looked up as the door opened and his father walked into the room. The advisors stood and Ulysses leaned back in his chair and looked at his father, "how's it going gentlemen?" Julian asked, "you're late," Ulysses said as he stood and Julian looked at his son then behind him to see who Ulysses was talking to because he knew it couldn't be him. "You can't be talking to me," Julian said as he walked further into the room and Ulysses looked at him not backing down. "No, I'm talking to the invisible man behind you," he said then let out a breath as he walked from behind the table.

"I'm leaving," Ulysses said as he headed for the door, "no, you're staying for the rest of the meeting," Julian said as he turned and looked at his son. "No, I'm not. Let them talk your head off, I have other things to see to," Ulysses said and his father looked at him. "Things like what?" Julian asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "things that don't involve me being here." Ulysses said then opened the door, "I expect to see you at dinner," Julian said. "And I wouldn't want to let you down," Ulysses said as he walked out of the door closing the door behind him. Julian shook his head at his son then walked over to his seat and down and the other advisors sat down as well. "Alright what was being discussed?" Julian asked and as one of the advisors started talking he listened but his mind was on his son and he could see what Marguerite was talking about, but he could only wonder what was bothering Ulysses.

Ulysses left the council room and decided he needed to burn off some of the frustration he had building up in him so he decided to go for a run. He ran for a while; he didn't know how long or how far he ran but it was helping him so when he felt that he was far enough from the palace he stopped and did a few push ups, some with both of his hands and some with each of his hands. He then wrapped his hands in some bandages he bought with him and found a strong, sturdy tree limb that was high enough; he jumped up and grabbed the branch and started doing chin ups.

It was a good thing that he had taken off his shirt before he started running, otherwise it would have been soaked. He spent a half an hour doing those and when he was done while still on the branch he flipped around a few times until he was still holding the branch but he legs were up in the air. He tightened his hands then let out a breath as he bent his arms then pushed back up; he did thirty of those then let go of the branch doing an aerial flip in the air and landing on his feet. He let out a breath and ran his fingers through his hair pushing some of the stray wet hair back with the rest of his hair. He sat down on the ground with his knees bent as he rested his arms on them giving himself a small break as he thought about a few things.

Five minutes passed and Ulysses decided he had enough of a rest so he laid down on the ground with his legs staying bent and he began to do some sit ups. When he was done he ran his way back to the palace and when he got to the back gate where there was a well he grinned as he saw Virgil and their friend Gary standing there talking. "What are you guys doing?" Ulysses asked as he walked over to them and they looked at him, "seeing how many girls we can get to smile at us then let us possibly sleep with them." Virgil said and Ulysses grinned as he shook his head then took a drink from the ladle in the bucket. "How about we have a sparring match?" Gary asked and Ulysses looked at them, "and I suppose it would be the two of you against me?" Ulysses asked and Virgil grinned, "of course you're much bigger than we are," Virgil said as he slapped Ulysses' muscled arm and Ulysses looked at him with a yea right look on his face considering both Virgil and Gary were almost as big as Ulysses.

And when he thought about it he wasn't really big; his body was the body of a trained warrior. He was a good looking man he knew that; he was a little over six feet, brown hair, brown eyes and a body to die for. He had muscled arms and chest but he wasn't overly muscular; he had a six pack for a stomach, strong thighs and a tight butt. Women often threw themselves at him and most of the time he took them up on their offers but as of late sleeping with any and every woman didn't really appeal to him, not like it had when he was a teenager coming into his own. He let out a breath as he looked up at the sky _'gods what am I looking for?'_ he asked himself and it seemed like he was praying to the gods, any god that would listen. "Hey Ulysses, what'cha lookin at?" Gary asked and Ulysses looked at him, "nothing," Ulysses said then let out a breath. "So are we sparring or what?" He asked and Virgil was about to answer when a nobleman's daughter passed by and she was hanging with Camilla and their little gossip group.

"How's it going Darlene?" Virgil asked as they passed by and they stopped and looked at him, Darlene in particular walking over to Virgil. "You sure are beautiful," Virgil said with a smile as brought his finger up and caressed her cheek while he looked into her blue eyes and she grinned at him. "Darlene don't fall for that," Camilla said as she walked over to them pulling Darlene away from Virgil. "Camilla why do you always have to interrupt something?" Virgil asked and she looked at him, "because I know what you, Gary," she said turning to look at Gary, "and my brother are all about." Camilla said and Virgil looked at her, "tell me Camilla, what do you think we're about?" He asked and she looked at him, "standing here by the well like you have nothing else better to do. Like I don't know you're fishing for women," Camilla said and Virgil grinned as did Gary who walked up to them. "Fishing? You really shouldn't think of yourself as a fish Camilla," Gary said and the next thing Ulysses knew they were arguing back and forth.

He shook his head and walked up to them putting himself between the women and Gary and Virgil, "alright that's enough," Ulysses said and Camilla looked at her brother. "Ulysses you just can't say that's enough like you run things…" she started tell her brother and he looked at her. "I said enough," he told her with force in his voice and she looked at him. "You're just taking up for them because they're your friends and probably because you were doing what they were doing," Camilla said as she folded her arms and he looked at her. "Camilla I just got here a few minutes ago, I don't know what they were doing and neither do you so stop assuming." Ulysses said and she looked at him, "so you just happened to be walking around with your shirt off?" She asked him and he looked at her, "I went for a run and did some exercises and why am I explaining myself to you again?" Ulysses asked her and she looked at him, "I think he has a point Camilla," a voice said and Camilla turned her head and watched as one of her friends walked up to her side but her eyes were totally on Ulysses.

"Hello Victoria," Ulysses said as he looked at her and she looked at him, "Ulysses," she said then tore her eyes from him and looked at Camilla. "We don't know what they were doing and it's wrong to accuse them," she said and Ulysses looked at her looking over her body since she was a beautiful woman. Fair skin that looked smooth to the touch; light brown hair and green eyes. She had nice full breasts from the look of it and nice legs from what he could tell by the dress she wore. "It's so nice for you to stick up for us Victoria we really weren't doing anything," Gary said as he walked closer to her and she rolled her eyes at him. "Don't think me a fool Gary, we know exactly what you were doing we just can't prove it," she said and Ulysses chuckled at them both and Victoria turned and looked at her watching as her eyes turned to a dark green as she got angry. "What's so funny?"

She asked and he grinned at her, "that you, Camilla and the rest of you, honestly believe you know what they were doing," Ulysses said and she looked at him. "Oh we know but you think us to be clueless," Victoria said and Ulysses smiled. "You said it not me," Ulysses said in a cool manner and Victoria was getting angrier by the minute. _'She's even more beautiful when she's angry'_ he thought to himself. "For your information we aren't clueless Ulysses," she said stressing his name and he nodded. "Oh really?" He asked and she nodded as she moved closer to him, "we know that you, Virgil and Gary stand at the well hitting on women trying to see which ones will let you sleep with them." Victoria said and Ulysses grinned at her, "you may or may not be right but don't include me with them." He said and she looked at him, "why not? You're just like them, trying to get every woman that walks." She said and he grinned at her, "the difference is Victoria, I don't have to try," Ulysses said and she looked at him.

"So sure of yourself are you? Well here's one woman who's not going to fall for your games or throw myself at you," she said while holding her chin high and stepping more in Ulysses' face. He just grinned at her and Virgil and Gary hid their grins as they knew the look Ulysses gave Victoria; she had provided him with a challenge and he was about to challenge what she just said. "Really?" He asked with a glint in his eyes and she nodded, "really," she said and the next thing she knew Ulysses had pulled her tightly into his arms and was kissing her. He tasted her lips first and when given the chance he plunged his tongue into her mouth and explored it like no one had ever explored her mouth before. Victoria at first wanted to fight him but his lips felt so good and then it turned out he was a great kisser. A moan escaped her mouth as she grabbed his hair and pulled him closer trying to match his kiss with one of her own and she was one of the few that came close. She found her other hand caressed his arms and back and when she got to his chest she liked to have gone crazy.

Suddenly the kiss was ended, their lips were torn apart as Camilla forcefully pulled her away, "what do you think you were doing?" She asked Victoria whose face was flushed and breathing labored, "why am I asking you?" She said then turned to Ulysses, "what in Hades did you think you were doing?" Camilla shouted at her brother who grinned at her as he looked at Victoria, "taking Victoria up on her challenge." He said and her eyes connected with his and it was like a pull and before she knew it she was walking over to him and he grinned at her as she grabbed his hair and pulled his lips down to hers. She moaned as she pushed her body into him while her hand caressed him and the kiss seemed so short compared to the last one and just like the last one the kiss ended suddenly. Camilla shook her head as she pulled Victoria back and looked at her, "Victoria get a hold of yourself," she shouted to her friend who seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in. Camilla then turned and looked at Ulysses who was smiling now, "and you stop," she yelled at her brother who continued to smile.

"Do you want me to stop Victoria?" He asked with a purr to his voice as he looked at her and she looked at him getting ready to fall back into his grasp, "yes she does," Camilla said forcefully as she gently pushed Victoria into Darlene's hands. "Come on Ulysses I think you've made your point," Virgil said with a grin on his face as he placed a hand on Ulysses' arm. Ulysses grinned and nodded as he held up his hands in surrender, "fine, fine we have sparring to do any way." He said and Camilla looked at him still not trusting him. "Victoria please forgive me for my behavior," Ulysses said and she looked at him then at Darlene, "I'm okay," she said and Darlene looked at her then let her go and Victoria walked up to Camilla standing at her side as she looked at Ulysses. "I accept your apology and apologize for my behavior as well. Just make sure it doesn't happen again," she said and he nodded. Camilla looked at her brother and then they turned to go when Ulysses grabbed Victoria's arm and walked up to her leaning down to whisper into her ear.

"This doesn't have to be the end, if you really want to know why women throw themselves at me then you know where to find me. If not, well I'll understand," he said then placed a soft kiss on her neck before he backed up and Camilla looked at her brother. "I knew I couldn't trust you," she said and he grinned at her then looked at Victoria as Camilla pulled her arm, "I'm leaving any way," he said then winked at Victoria before he turned and walked away. "Let's go," he told Virgil and Gary as he walked away and Virgil grinned at them, "ladies," he said then turned to follow Ulysses. "What did he tell you?" Camilla asked once Ulysses and the others were gone and Victoria shook her head as she looked after Ulysses. Camilla looked at her then grabbed her arm turning her towards her so that she was looking into Victoria's eyes. "Don't fall for whatever he's telling you. I love my brother dearly but I've seen what he's done to other women. He'll sleep with you then throw you away, he won't mean to hurt you but he will Victoria. Don't fall into that," she told her friend and Victoria looked into her eyes.

"But Milla he seemed so sincere," Victoria said using her pet name for Camilla who nodded. "I know and probably in some small way he is but that's where the other women have gotten into trouble. I'm telling you this Victoria because you are one of my best friends and I would hate to see you hurt by my brother. For you sake don't sleep with him," Camilla said and Victoria looked at her and nodded. Camilla looked at her then nodded and they all headed back inside the palace for lunch. Ulysses, Virgil and Gary made it to the private training grounds where they began sparring, "so what's up with you and Victoria?"

Virgil asked and Ulysses grinned as he hunched his shoulders, "she intrigues me," he said then blocked off one of Virgil's attack to turn and engage Gary. "I'd be careful with that one, she looks like she's a handful," Gary said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "A challenge, I haven't had a good challenge in a while," Ulysses said then attacked both Gary and Virgil and in a couple of minutes he had them on the ground. "Any way she's just a distraction," Ulysses said as he flipped his sword in his hand, "I have no doubt she'll be in my bed tonight," he said with a smile then defended himself against their attacks.

"Speaking of distractions, man I had a great one last night," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned. "I figured that's what you were doing," he said and Virgil nodded. "Man, Ulysses when I say I had a wild ride, I mean I had a wild ride," Virgil said and both Ulysses and Gary smiled. "She's was the best I've had in a while, man I had to slow her down a couple of times I thought she was going to break something," Virgil said with a smile and Ulysses and Gary started laughing. Ulysses spent the rest of the day hanging out with his friends getting rid of his frustrations and before it was time for dinner her went to his room and took a shower and put on clean clothes. Virgil and Gary waited for him in Ulysses' sitting room; they were late getting to dinner but it didn't really bother Ulysses much. "You're late," Julian said as Ulysses sat down in his seat which was on his father's left hand side. "I had a real busy day today," Ulysses said as he grinned at the servant who poured his wine then picked the glass up. "I'll say," Camilla said as she looked at her brother and he grinned at her as he brought his glass to his lips taking a small gulp.

Ulysses ate his dinner and he sat there and listened to his father talk about some things about Ithaca. _'This and that, blah, blah, blah'_ Ulysses thought as he listened to his father then drained his glass then signaled to have it refilled. "You missed an interesting meeting you should have stayed," Julian said and Ulysses nodded. "Trust me if I would have stayed someone would have gotten killed," Ulysses said as he leaned back in his chair. "Ulysses you know you need to start participating more in the business of Ithaca and the things that go on," Julian said and Ulysses nodded but wasn't really listening to his father since the last thing he wanted was to be more involved in things concerning Ithaca. Virgil leaned in to whisper to Ulysses whose eyes rose up to the door of the Dinning hall where he saw Victoria was walking in with her family. She looked towards him and he gave her a grin, Virgil whispered something else in Ulysses' ear making him chuckle. When dessert came out they ate and Ulysses looked over every now and then at Victoria giving her little winks and small grins seeing her lower her head as she blushed and smiled.

"Ow…what'd you do that for?" Ulysses asked his sister as he rubbed the sharp pain in his leg from having her kick him hard under the table. "Leave her alone," Camilla said and Ulysses grinned at her, "her who?" He asked and for that he got another hard kick, "stop that," he told her and she looked at him. "Leave Victoria alone, I know the games you run on women Ulysses, I'm telling you now don't think about running them on Victoria. Leave her alone and go find some mindless woman to mess with," Camilla said and Ulysses looked at her. "I'm hurt Camilla that you think so little of your brother," he said as he placed his hand over his heart in a dramatic way and his face was straight until Virgil and Gary started laughing and he started laughing as well. Camilla looked at him then kicked him hard again wiping the smile off of his face as he looked at her, "if you don't stop," he said and she looked at him. "I'm warning you, stay away from Victoria, get the thoughts of sleeping with her out of your mind," Camilla said and Ulysses looked at her.

"Camilla, do I look like a little boy who needs you to tell me what to do?" Ulysses asked her and she looked at him, "yes because that's the way you act." She said and he looked at her, "fine, then I'm a little boy whose got big toys and the other girls like to play with them," Ulysses said causing Virgil to start choking on his wine as he started laughing and Ulysses chuckled at him. Camilla kicked him hard again and he looked at her, "I'm not going to tell you again," he said. "What are you too bickering about?" Marguerite asked her children and they looked at their mother, "Camilla and her control issues," Ulysses said and Camilla looked at her brother. "My brother who goes around sleeping with every woman he sees," Camilla said and he looked at her. "Why do you care who I sleep with?" He asked and she looked at him, "I don't, as long as you don't sleep with Victoria," Camilla said and he looked at her. "Ulysses what is this about you and Victoria? What happened to Penelope?"

Julian asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "nothing happened to Penelope I'm just not interested. She's a good friend but that's all she'll ever be. As for me and Victoria, Camilla is just letting her imagination run away with her." He said as he looked at his sister then picked up his glass taking a deep gulp. "Oh yeah, well why don't you tell them what you did by the well today," Camilla said and Ulysses grinned as he recalled that. "What did you do Ulysses?" Marguerite asked her son and he looked at her, "I kissed her," he said. "More than once," Camilla put in and he let out a breath, "so what Camilla, get off of it. I don't hear Victoria complaining; in fact I didn't hear her complaining when I kissed her." He said and Camilla looked at him. "Why can't you just leave her alone Ulysses? You've got plenty other women to sleep with, women pawning after you. So why are you messing with Victoria?" She asked her brother and he looked at her then at his glass as he hunched his shoulders, "she's intriguing and very beautiful when she's angry." He said with a grin and Camilla let out a frustrated breath.

"I wouldn't be opposed of you being with her if I didn't know how you are," Camilla said and Ulysses looked at his sister. "Stop assuming that you know me Camilla, you think you know but you know nothing." Ulysses said and Camilla looked at him, "oh yeah? Well how many women were you with last month?" Camilla asked and Ulysses looked at her then at Virgil who grinned, "too many to count," Virgil said then started laughing and Ulysses chuckled with him and Gary. "You see mother this is what I'm talking about," Camilla said and Marguerite looked at her son. "Ulysses what are your intentions toward Victoria?" She asked and he looked at her and hunched his shoulders, "stop acting like you don't know. You know, tell our mother how you just want to get between her legs and after you've gotten what you want you'll toss her to the side like trash. I've seen you do it so many times before," Camilla said and Ulysses looked at her as he leaned back in his chair. "You know something I'm getting tired of this conversation," Ulysses said, "as am I," Julian said and Camilla let out a breath.

"Fine, this conversation will end when I get Ulysses' word that he will not sleep with Victoria, that he will leave her alone." Camilla said as she looked at her brother and he looked at her, "fine I won't sleep with her," he said and Camilla looked at him then let out a breath of relief. "You'll be happy to know we won't sleep at all," he said with a grin and Virgil and Gary started laughing while Camilla gave her brother an evil stare. "Ulysses I'm not playing, I'm telling you right now…" she started saying but he stopped her. "See that's your problem right there, don't presume you can tell me anything little sister." He said and his eyes were dead serious, he hated when other people started telling him what he was and wasn't going to do. "Let me be blunt Camilla. You know nothing of things I do between a woman's thighs; if Victoria wants to be with me then that's her choice, I'm not forcing her to do anything she doesn't want. If she doesn't want me between her thighs as you say, then she'll keep them closed. I'm not going to force her into anything she doesn't want; Victoria is a grown woman and she doesn't need you or anyone else protecting her."

Ulysses said and Camilla looked at him, "I'm warning you Ulysses," Camilla said with her eyes dead serious and he looked at her with a relaxed expression. "Ooh I'm shaking in my boots," he said then rolled his eyes at his sister. Camilla looked at her brother then swung at him to slap him and because of his instincts and training he pulled his face back before she could make contact. "You'll have to do better than that little sister," he taunted her and she was getting ready again when the voice of her father stopped her. "Enough," Julian shouted and some of the others in the dinning hall stopped and looked towards what was going on at the royal table. "What is the matter with you two? You're acting like children and I will not have it," Julian shouted at his children and they looked at him then at each other. Marguerite placed her hand on Julian's arm and he looked at her then let out a breath as he sat back down in his chair and looked at his children. "This is ridiculous this argument that you're having, but I do know that it's about to end right now." By then everyone had returned to their meals and conversation and Julian spoke quietly to his children.

"Camilla you know I don't tolerate that type of behavior at the table, however I understand where you're coming from but your brother his right, Victoria is a young, intelligent woman who can make her own decisions she doesn't need you to make them for her." Julian told his daughter and she fell back in her chair and started pouting, it never failed that their father always took Ulysses' side. "On the other hand Ulysses your sister is right; it doesn't sound to me that you have honorable intentions towards Victoria. So I'm telling you leave her be, I don't care if she approaches you or not, you are to leave her alone." He told his son and Ulysses looked at him, "but," Ulysses started saying but his father cut him off. "LEAVE HER alone Ulysses," Julian stressed and Ulysses looked at him then fell back in his chair. He looked across at Camilla who was grinning and he let out a frustrated breath as he picked up his glass and drained it, his jaw clenching and unclenching in anger. Marguerite looked at her son who she could tell was real upset so she looked at Julian and with her eyes told him to look at Ulysses and he could see as well that Ulysses was real upset.

Camilla looked at her brother and could tell he was upset probably with her for bringing the whole thing up, "look Ulysses it really is for the best," Camilla said to her brother in a comforting voice and he looked at her. "Don't talk to me," he said in a hard tone and she looked at him, "Ulysses…" she started to say but of course he stopped her. "Are you hard of hearing?" He yelled at her making her flinch and his parents looked at him; it was quiet at the table after that and Ulysses just sat there and sulked while he sipped on his wine. His father looked at him and let out a breath, "Ulysses your mother and I have been noticing lately that you've been bothered by something," Julian said and Ulysses nodded. "Really?" He asked in mocking tone and Julian looked at him, "yea and I believe that you feel that you don't have enough of a role where Ithaca is concerned." He said and Ulysses looked at him, "you don't know how I feel so don't go around making assumptions," he said and Julian looked at his son.

"You're right so why don't you tell your mother and I what you're feeling, what's bothering you." His father said and Ulysses let out a breath, "its nothing," he said and his mother looked at him. "It has to be something Ulysses," she said and he let out a breath as he ran his finger over the rim of his glass. "Well I think I've found something that will help; I've given you the position of head of security over the entire Island. You'll be in charge of making sure things are running smoothly in the markets, making the people feel safe if they don't, putting out trouble that sort of thing." Julian said as he looked at his son, "that sounds like a great position Ulysses," his mother said and he looked at them with no hint of a smile or gratefulness on his face. "Thanks but no thanks," Ulysses said and Julian lost his smile as he looked at his son, "Ulysses do you realize the power and responsibility I've just given you?" He asked and Ulysses nodded, "and I don't want it. You just want to bury me in work, hoping I'll forget about whatever's bothering me. I don't want to forget about it, I want to find out what it is and solve the problem."

He said and Julian nodded, "and you can still do that as head of security," Julian said and Ulysses sat up in his chair and looked his father dead in the eyes. "I don't want the position," he said and Julian looked back at his son. "Whether you want it or not it's been given to you and you will do the job correctly," Julian said and Ulysses looked at him then let out a breath. "I'm going to my room," he said as he stood then looked at Camilla putting his hands on the table so that he could bend over and speak to her. "Oh and little sister I'll sleep with whom I'm damn well please regardless of what you or our father has to say," he told her then looked at his father sure he had heard the words that were spoken to Camilla. Ulysses looked into his father's eyes then stood and walked away from the table and out of the Dinning hall. "What is wrong with that boy?" Julian wondered out loud; they weren't the only ones watching Ulysses walk out of the Dinning Hall. Victoria had her eyes on him and after a few minutes she excused herself from the table and followed Ulysses.

She saw Ulysses walking down the hall so she did a light jog to catch up with him, "hey Ulysses slow down," she said and he turned his head and looked at her but continued walking. "I'm not supposed to be talking to you," he said as he continued walking, "says who?" Victoria asked and he let out a breath, "my annoying sister and my almighty father," he said and Victoria thought about that for a minute then grabbed his arm stopping him and he let out a breath and looked at her. "That's not going to stop you is it?" She asked and Ulysses looked at her, "not really," he said and she grinned and he just continued his walking. Victoria could tell he was mad by his silence and the way he walked which was hard and fast, "do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" She asked, "not really," he answered and she nodded and was quiet as they continued to walk. "Were you and Camilla fighting over me?" She asked after a minute and he let out a breath, "yes," he said and she looked at him.

"Do I interest you that much that you would fight over me with your sister?" She asked and he let out a breath, "Victoria I'm sure Camilla has told you what a horrible man I am when it comes to women so save yourself the trouble and head back to the Dinning hall." He said as he slowed down his step until he was in front of his door pulling out a key to open it and she placed her hand on his arm and he turned and looked at her. "What if I want the trouble?" She asked and he looked into her eyes then let out a breath, "suit yourself," he said as he opened the door and walked in followed by Victoria and he closed and locked the door behind him. Victoria looked around the room then followed Ulysses into his bedroom; he immediately walked over to the table that held the beverages and poured himself a glass of wine. "Would you like something to drink?" He asked her and she nodded as she looked around his room. Ulysses walked over to her with two glasses of wine in his hands, "here you go," he said and she smiled her thanks to him as she took the glass and watched as he sat down on the sofa in the room.

He took a deep gulp of wine then sat the glass down on the floor as he undid his cuffs, then undid a few buttons on his shirt before he pulled his shirt out of his pants. He picked his glass up taking another gulp before he laid his head back and let out a breath. Victoria looked at him then walked over to the sofa and sat down next to him, she looked at him then sat her glass down on the floor before she hesitantly took his hand in hers bringing it up to her lips and softly kissing the back of it. She looked at him and he hadn't opened his eyes but he acknowledged she was there. She moved closer to him her thigh touching his as she ran her fingers soothingly through his hair he let her do that for a while then opened his eyes and looked at her. "You know it would help if you talked about it," she said and Ulysses looked at her looked into her eyes as he brought his finger up and caressed her cheek. "You're beautiful," he whispered and she looked at him, "talk," she whispered back to him and he looked into her eyes then turned his head as he let out a breath.

"Do you believe that we are meant to be what we were born into?" He asked and she looked at him as she continued to run her fingers through his hair. "You're asking if you're meant to be king since that is the only choice that has been lain out before you?" She asked and he turned his head and looked at her, "yea," he said and she looked into his eyes as she answered. "I believe that we are what we want to be, no one can make you the person you are Ulysses, you choose your own destiny, your own path." She said and he sat up and looked at her turning his body so that he was facing her, "that sounds good to me but those words don't apply to me. They don't apply to the son of a king whose destined to be king himself one day." Ulysses said then looked down at the glass in his hand, "no, as much as I wish, those words don't apply to me, they never can and they never will. The burden of the first born," he said and Victoria looked at him.

She raised his chin and looked into his eyes, "I don't care if you're a King, a god, nobleman or villager you choose who you want to be no one else can do it for you. Say this life is all you know but it doesn't make you, it doesn't define who you are. Just because you are born into a family of farmers doesn't mean you have to become one, yes its all you know, it's all you've grown up around but there are other choices. I say the same thing to you Ulysses, just because you're next in line doesn't mean you have to take the throne. Be who you want to be," Victoria said and Ulysses looked at her then grinned, "now I know why I find you so interesting." He said and she smiled at him; they talked for a while longer Ulysses getting to know her and she getting to know a little bit about Ulysses, it wasn't easy to get him to open up. Ulysses sat his glass down on the floor off to the side then leaned in and kissed Victoria softly. The kisses they shared started off soft and were just a soft tasting of lips, but gradually Ulysses' increased it.

They were involved in a passionate tasting of lips when Ulysses' hand started pushing her dress up so that he could caress her thigh. Victoria didn't mind that too much in fact she pulled Ulysses' closer and moaned as he deepened the kiss by pushing his tongue into her mouth. Ulysses moved closer and continued to caress her thigh his hand slowly inching inward but she stopped him half way putting her hand on his as she pulled back from the kiss. "What's wrong?" He asked her and she looked at him, "I'm…I'm not sure if I want to do this," she said and he looked at her. "Did I hurt you?" He asked and she swallowed as she shook her head, "no its just that…well Camilla said," she said and Ulysses let out a breath as he removed his hand and gave her some space. "Look Victoria let me be honest with you; I'm not looking for a wife or a girlfriend. I'm just looking for someone I can spend time with, make love to with really no strings attached." He said as he looked into her eyes and she looked into his, "I'm sure Camilla has told you all kinds of things about me. How I'll sleep with you then leave you," he said and she looked down.

"I will admit I have done that in the past, but that's not what I'm trying to do with you." He said then raised her chin so that he was looking into her eyes and she was looking into his, "I'm not trying to hurt you Victoria," he whispered to her and she looked at him. He leaned in and kissed her softly and when the kiss ended he went in for another and when he went to kiss her again she turned her head. "I don't know Ulysses," she said and he looked at her, "I'm not going to pressure you into anything Victoria, but you knew what you were getting into when you approached me in the hall." He said and she looked at him, "I saw you're argument with your sister and father and thought you could use someone to talk to," she said and he looked at her. "That may be, but you were also thinking about earlier. About when we kissed, how good it felt to have my arms around you tightly. To be pressed against me while my lips are pressed against yours; I felt earlier how much you wanted me, tell me you weren't thinking about all of that when you thought about approaching me."

He said and she turned her head looking away from him and after a minute he let out a breath, "you're a grown woman Victoria make your own decision about if you want to be with me." He said, "I just…" she said then let out a breath; Ulysses looked at her and gently grabbed her chin and turned her face towards him. "Trust me," he said then leaned in and kissed her softly, when the kiss ended he looked into her eyes and saw no objection about him kissing her again. This kiss was a passionate tasting of lips and when it ended he leaned down and started kissing and lightly sucking on her neck. "I know you want me I can see it in your eyes," he whispered in her ear then flicked his tongue over her earlobe feeling the shiver run through her body. "I can feel it in your body," he said then kissed her right below her ear, "I can make you feel real good Victoria if you let me," he whispered seductively in her ear and she let out a gasp as his hand rubbed the heat between her legs. She was so occupied with his kisses and voice that she didn't notice his hand was under her skirt and caressing her through her underwear.

He rose up and kissed her the kiss slowly turning passionate and when it did his fingers went into her underwear and down to that moist heat. When his fingers made contact she moaned as did he and he began to stroke her as they kissed. When the kiss ended he looked at Victoria who had her eyes closed as she moaned her hands clenching at the sofa. Ulysses kissed her lips softly as he slowly eased his finger down, "you want me?" He asked her and she moaned, "yes," she whimpered then moaned as he pushed his finger into her. He stroked her a few times then crooked his finger and rubbed her inner walls; he looked at her as she started moaning in pleasure and he leaned down placing soft kisses on her lips, around her lips and on her cheeks. Her release was building fast and a few minutes later she came hard and fast; she lay on the sofa catching her breath and Ulysses looked at her. He stood and before Victoria knew it she was being lifted up into his strong arms; Ulysses carried her over to the bed gently laying her down in the middle. He kicked off his boots then took of his belt before he got into the bed laying on his side next to her as he caressed her cheek with his fingers.

She looked at him then met him half way as he leaned down to kiss her. As time passed their clothes was scattered all over the floor and Ulysses kissed Victoria's entire body slowly making his way down. When he was finally between her legs she looked up at the ceiling her eyes wide open as was her mouth as Ulysses tasted her. He went slowly for her, letting her get use to the feeling, so sometimes he pulled back and kissed and sucked on her thighs and legs before he went back. Eventually she started pushing into his mouth and he moaned as he gripped her thighs and began to pleasure her with his lips, teeth and tongue. She turned her head to the side one hand gripping the sheets while the other gripped Ulysses' hair as constant moans left her throat. "Unnnngh…un…un," she moaned then nearly screamed as Ulysses pulled back and held her lips open with his fingers then leaned forward and sucked on her labia moving his mouth up to her clit. Her hands started pushing at Ulysses' shoulders and he took them and pinned them to the bed.

"Ummmm…Aaaahhhh," Victoria moaned as her back arched off the bed and Ulysses moaned as he looked at her then added more pressure to his suck and worked his tongue while he used his teeth to scrape at the sensitive flesh. Victoria fell back down to the bed when Ulysses raised up to look down at his handy work; he held her open a little wider then leaned down and licked all around. Victoria's body shook with pleasure and her hand ran over Ulysses' arm as she moaned constantly; seven minutes later Victoria cried her release to the ceiling and Ulysses moaned as he lapped at her. She fell back down on the bed breathing hard as she tried to catch her breath and Ulysses caressed her softly with his tongue after he was finished with his clean up. When he was done he placed a few soft kisses on her thighs then kissed his way back up. He looked down at Victoria who was still trying to catch her breath, "you alright?" He asked her and she opened her eyes and nodded. "Yea, that was amazing," she said and he grinned at her. "That was just a taste," he said as he caressed her cheek with his finger then leaned down and kissed her softly.

He let her rest so for a while they lay there lazily kissing until she let him know she was ready by grinding into him. The kisses became deeper, more passionate and longer. Ulysses held his erect cock with one hand and brushed the tip against her nether lips, sliding it in between them getting it slick before he slid down to her opening. The kiss ended and she looked at Ulysses, "I've never been with anyone as big as you," she said and he grinned at her. "It's okay just relax," he said then started placing soft kisses every where. He kissed on her neck making his way up to her neck, "relax, I promise I won't hurt you," he whispered to her then continued kissing her. He was sucking on a spot on her neck that she was real sensitive to and it was causing her to moan a lot. Ulysses took this time while she was relaxed and occupied to push into her. He rose up in time to look at her the surprise look on her face as he filled her like no one else ever had. He kissed her softly then after a minute slowly pulled out and pushed back in.

"Unnnngh," she moaned as her hands clung to Ulysses' back; he started a real slow rhythm letting her get use to the feel of him. As time passed, they shared passionate kisses as he thrust in and out of her and he swallowed all of her moans as he created pleasure in her she had never felt. Half an hour passed and Ulysses was kissing and sucking on her neck as he thrust into her at a medium pace, sweat covering both of their bodies and moans filled the room. Eventually Ulysses rose up and kissed her deeply and as they kissed he raised himself up so that he pushed her legs open wider and went deeper into her. As a result she moaned loudly and left four scratches on his back; in this position Ulysses seemed to be in better access to her body and he drove her wild. Before she released she was whimpering; when the final moments came all she could do was moan and caress Ulysses' back as he kissed on her neck. His lips rested on her jaw as he did a few more thrusts then groaned as he released and Victoria moaned as she arched into him holding on tight to his arms.

After that they lay in the bed the sheet covering their naked bodies; Victoria lay in Ulysses' arms running her hand over his chest as he caressed the back of her neck and they lay there in the dark in complete silence. After a while she raised her head and looked at Ulysses who was staring out at nothing and it was obvious that he was thinking about something. "What's on your mind?" She asked him startling him out of his thoughts and he turned and looked at her then let out a breath, "what we talked about earlier," he said and she looked at him. "You want to talk about it some more?" She asked him and he shook his head, "I doubt that it would help," he said as he turned his head back and she looked at him. She placed a kiss on his chest, then another and another; she turned his face back towards her and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended she looked into his eyes, "you never know. Tell me," she said and he looked into her eyes seeing that she honestly wanted to know that she cared.

"Today at dinner my father told me that he has given me the position of overseeing the security of the entire island," Ulysses said and Victoria looked at him. "Well that's good isn't it?" She asked and he let out a breath as he raised his arm some then dropped it, "I guess so but I just don't want to be that much involved in Ithaca right now. I'm trying to figure things out for myself without having other responsibilities thrown at me." He said and she looked at him, "why don't you sit down and have a talk with your father, tell him how you're feeling," Victoria suggested and Ulysses shook his head. "He doesn't want to hear it, as far as he's concerned I'm a man now and I should be involving myself more where Ithaca is concerned. All he sees when he looks at me is the heir to his throne," Ulysses said and Victoria looked down for a moment as her fingers caressed his chest. "I don't think anyone really know how hard it is on you," Victoria said after a minute of silence and he looked at her. "No, they think its fun and games all the time; oh look Ulysses' with another girl that's all he does," Ulysses said and Victoria looked at him.

"Well I don't think that's all there is to you granted you do what you do well," she said with a grin and Ulysses smiled up at her. "Well Victoria if I didn't know better I'd say you actually like being with me," he said as he rose up and she grinned at him as she caressed his chin. "I do, you're amazing," she said and he grinned then leaned in and tasted her lips and as they kissed Victoria ran her hand over his back then pushed him down flat on the bed and he looked at her as she straddled his waist. "I was surprised before," she said as she ran her hands over his chest and he caressed her thighs as he looked at her, "but now that I know just how impressive you are let me show you how amazing I can be." She said with a grin then leaned down and kissed Ulysses. Forty five minutes later Victoria was still on top riding Ulysses moaning as he even now he filled her completely. "Unnnngh…ummmm," she moaned as she tilted her head back and started moving her hips faster and faster. Ulysses moaned as he looked at her and ran his hands over her thighs up to her waist then caressing her stomach.

After a couple of minutes he sat up and wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer as he devoured her mouth; she moaned as she held onto his arms while still moving and when the kiss ended he started kissing and sucking on her neck. He kissed his way down to her breasts where he sucked on each nipple for a little bit then kissed his way back up. "Push your hips down harder," he whispered to her as he kissed on her jaw line and Victoria moaned as she placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed down harder like he told her. "Unnngh," she cried out I pleasure her fingers digging into his shoulders. "That's it," Ulysses moaned as he caressed her back. She was good on her own but he could teach her how to be better and so he continued to give her pointers. About twenty minutes later Ulysses fell back on the bed and Victoria fell on top of him both sweaty and breathless but both had grins on their faces.

They lay there for a few minutes resting and then Victoria raised her head, "okay I think I've got it now. What'd you say we give it another try?" She asked as she leaned down and kissed his jaw and he grinned at her, "if that's what you want," he said. "It is," she said as she raised her head then kissed him and as they kissed Ulysses rolled Victoria onto her back and deepened the kiss and they started all over again. This time an hour passed and Victoria thought she had died and gone to the Elysian Fields. She started out on her back and Ulysses was driving him crazy and then she wanted to test out what she learned so she rolled him onto his back and had a go at it. She was definitely getting the hang of it and her hands pressed down hard on Ulysses' chest as she continued to ride him. Her head tilted back and constant moans and cries came from her mouth; Ulysses moaned as he held on tight to her waist and a couple of times he hissed in pleasure as she started adding her own little small touches here and there to what he had taught her.

"Ulysses…oh Ulysses…ooohhhh," she moaned as her release started and before he knew it her hips were going crazy and she rode him hard and fast back and forth. "Aaahhhh," he moaned as he closed his eyes tightly while holding on to her as his release took him. Victoria fell on top of Ulysses sweaty, exhausted and out of breath, "how…how was…that?" She asked and Ulysses grinned as he caressed her back then raised her head so that he was looking into her eyes, "much better," he said and she grinned then closed her eyes as he kissed her softly. When the kiss ended she lay her head back down on his chest, "I'm just going to lay here for a second," she said and Ulysses let out a breath, "okay," he said as he pulled the sheet up their bodies then placed his hand back on her lower back. Before they knew it that second turned into a minute that minute turned into minutes and those minutes turned into an hour and they were knocked out. Hours passed as they slept and it was late when Ulysses' body woke him up letting him know he had a little too much to drink.

He opened his eyes and looked down at Victoria then let out a breath as he laid his head back down and looked up at the ceiling. He thought it was possible to hold it but he could see that wasn't going to happen so he gently eased her off of him; he looked at her as she let out a moan but didn't wake up. He sat up, stood up and walked quickly to the bath chamber. He let out a breath of relief as he let all that water out and when he was done he pulled the lever flushing the chamber pot then walked back into the bedroom. He sat down heavily on the bed then laid down feeling as if he hadn't gotten any sleep, he pulled the sheet up so that basically his waist was covered and then he closed his eyes and fell back to sleep. Victoria moved her way back into Ulysses' arm laying half on him. Morning came and the sun was starting to rise and when the beams of the sun started shining into Ulysses' room through a crack in his curtains he groaned as he turned on his stomach grabbing his pillow to covering his face and Victoria continued to sleep but she moved so that she was laying some on Ulysses' back.

It was an hour after sunrise and Ulysses and Victoria showed no signs of waking up. "Sarah are there any signs that say Ulysses is awake?" Marguerite asked the head maid and Sarah looked at her, "no my lady but the prince rarely calls me to do anything," she said and Marguerite nodded. Ulysses knew he had to get up but he didn't care, he didn't want to head of security, there were times when he didn't even want to be a prince. Still he knew as much as he wanted to he couldn't neglect his duties his father would never stop harassing him about it. So he got up and went into the bath chamber where he took a hot shower. He let the water beat down on his neck and back then raised his head and let it beat down on his face and hair. He stood there for a while then he eventually grabbed some soap and a cloth and began bathing himself. While he took his shower there was a knock at the door but he couldn't hear it, but Victoria could. She groaned when she heard the knocking, "Ulysses are you going to get that?" She asked not bothering to open her eyes but when there was no answer she opened her eyes and sat up some looking around the room for Ulysses.

She didn't see him but the knocking was getting more constant but she wasn't sure if she should answer it or not. After a minute she got out of the bed and looked around the room for something to wear. Seeing Ulysses' black robe she grabbed it and put it on and being that it was too big for her even after she tied the belt she held it to her as she walked into the front room and opened the door. When she opened the door she was surprised to see who was on the other side of it, "my…my lady," Victoria stuttered and Marguerite looked at her equally surprised to see her. "Victoria," Marguerite said then walked into the room and Victoria closed the door behind her. "Where's my son?" Marguerite as she turned and looked at Victoria who looked at her, "I don't know," she said and Marguerite looked at her then walked into the bedroom and looked at the bed where she saw it was all messed up. Victoria followed her into the room and watched as Marguerite looked around and they both looked towards the other door and Ulysses walked through it with a towel around his waist while he dried his hair with another towel.

He raised his head and his eyes connected with theirs, "good morning mother, Victoria," he said then walked over to her giving her Victoria a brief kiss before he walked over to his closet. "Ulysses your father is expecting to see you at breakfast," his mother said and Ulysses only rolled his eyes as he used the closet door for privacy and put on his pants. "Yea well I'll get there when I get there," he said as she took a shirt out of the closet and put it on then closed the door and looked at his mother as he walked over to the bed to grab his boots. Victoria looked around the room for her clothes and began to pick them up then walked over to the changing curtain and put her clothes on. Marguerite walked over to her son who had sat down on the bed and was putting on his boots, "Ulysses your father told you to leave her alone," Marguerite said in and low voice and Ulysses looked at up at his mother. "And I told my father and my sister they don't control who I sleep with," he said then stood and walked over to the dresser where he picked up a brush and looked into the mirror as he brushed his damp hair.

"Ulysses I understand that you have some things you need to figure out but this attitude you have is not going to help anything. Like yesterday, your father put such trust in you when he gave you this position and you just threw it back into his face." Marguerite said and Ulysses turned and looked at her, "because I don't want to be involved in anything that concerns Ithaca, why can't you guys understand that I'm just trying to find myself and I can't do that with father constantly throwing responsibilities where Ithaca is concerned in my face. Slowly pushing me into the position of king," Ulysses said as he began buttoning his shirt and his mother looked at him, "because Ulysses your father won't be here always. He pushes you to become the man we know you are because he wants to make sure that Ithaca is in great hands when the day comes that he should step down or the gods forbid die." Marguerite said and Ulysses let out a breath, "Ulysses I'm gonna go," Victoria said as she walked over to him and he looked at her then walked up to her.

"Alright, I'll see you later," he said and she grinned and nodded then leaned in and kissed him softly but passionately. When the kiss ended she looked at him then turned and looked at Marguerite, "my lady," she said bowing her head some before she headed for the door and walked out. Ulysses tucked his shirt into his pants then picked up his belt and put it on as well; Marguerite looked at her son shaking her head at him then let out a breath. "We should be going," she said, "I'll be there in a minute," he said and she looked at him then turned and headed out of the room. When he heard the door close he let out a breath and sat down heavily on the sofa. He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a frustrating breath wishing everyone would just leave him alone. After a couple of minutes he stood and headed out of his room and headed to the Dinning hall. When he got there he walked over to the table and sat down in his chair, "I was wondering if you were going to show," Julian said to his son and Ulysses let out a breath.

"Where else would you have me be?" He asked his father and Julian looked into his son's eyes, "I would have you be at my side like my son should," he said and Ulysses looked at him then down at the plate that had been placed in front of him. _'And like the perfect son that I am that's where I'll be'_ Ulysses thought to himself as he began to force himself to eat not really having much of an appetite. "Ulysses can I ask you a question?" Camilla said, "what?" He asked as he continued to look down at his plate. "Last night Victoria left the hall right after you did, she didn't say anything to her parents so I was wondering do you know what happened to her?" Camilla asked and Ulysses rolled his eyes at his sister, "maybe she ran away," he said _'which is beginning to sound like a good idea'_ he thought and Camilla looked at him. "Or maybe she was in your room," she said and Ulysses let out a breath, "Camilla we're not going to have the same conversation we had last night this morning."

He said and she looked at him her eyes flashing, "you slept with her. You did, even after father and I told you not to," she said and Ulysses let out a breath as he played with his food. "Camilla will you leave it alone, gods find a new topic of conversation," Ulysses said and Camilla looked at him. "Ulysses how could you? After I asked and pleaded with you," she said and he dropped his fork and looked at his sister. "For Zeus sake Camilla it's not like I raped her; she came to me and we had a great time last night and it won't be the last," he said and she looked at him. "If I have anything to say about it, it will be," Julian said and Ulysses turned and looked at his father. "I told you to leave Victoria alone Ulysses, you disobeyed me and probably did it on purpose." Julian said and Ulysses looked at him, "she came to me," he said stressing each and every word. "I told her you and Camilla didn't want me with her, SHE decided that to be with me was what she wanted. SHE made the choice not me," he said as he looked his father dead into his eyes.

"And frankly I'm tired of you and Camilla telling me who I can and can not see, what I can do and what I can't do." He said as he stood getting ready to leave, "I'm twenty five years old I'm not a child," he said. "Well then act like the man you claim to be," Julian said as he stood as well and looked at Ulysses who looked back at him. "You don't want me to be the man I want to be you want me to be the man that you're trying to mold." Ulysses said, "what are you talking about?" His father asked and Ulysses looked at him, "this head of security position you've given me. I don't want the position, I've never once come to you asking to be more involved in Ithaca's business," Ulysses said and Julian nodded. "I know and that was a problem, as you say Ulysses you're twenty five, you're a man now, a man that should be learning how to take care of his island. So I decided that this was something you needed, something that would help you," he said and Ulysses shook his head. "This isn't helping me, its helping you but not me.

Father I feel empty, lost and alone and I want to find myself I want to do something more than what has been lain out before me. Something is calling to me and I need to find out what, I can't do that if you keep constantly throwing things at me that I have to do for Ithaca. More and more responsibilities that I'm just not ready for right now," Ulysses said as he looked into his father's eyes deciding to let him know what he was feeling. "Daddy, please why can't you understand that?" He asked and Julian looked at his son his eyes softening, "Ulysses I know how you're feeling and I know where you're coming from, but son this is the path that has been lain out for you and its time that you start walking it." Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father and shook his head, "you haven't heard a word I've said," Ulysses said as he looked at his father then looked down. Julian let out a breath as he sat back down in his chair, "I have heard you Ulysses but it's you that hasn't heard me. I've given you this position to help you, to push you a little in the right direction hoping you'll take it from there."

King Julian let out a breath as he looked at his son, "I can see now that you need more than a little push," he said then let out a breath. "So in addition to your new position you're to start attending the meetings I have with my advisors and you're going to start handling the trade. What we trade, who we trade it with, when it comes in and the protection of it. I'm putting more of Ithaca into your hands and I know you feel like it may be too much but you'll see that its not. This will help you Ulysses, I'm doing this because I believe this is what's best for you." Julian said and Ulysses' jaw clenched and unclenched as he contained his anger and he couldn't believe how his father had just dismissed what he had said all together. It was like he was dismissing his feelings, how he felt and what mattered to him. "May I be excused? As you've just pointed out I have a lot to prepare for," Ulysses said and Julian looked into his son's eyes which were hard, cold and full of anger and hurt. "Ulysses," Julian said in a soft voice, "may I be excused?"

Ulysses said again and Julian looked at his son and nodded and Ulysses quickly left the table and the room. He walked quickly down the halls feeling like he needed some air and the next thing he new he was running. Even when he was outside the walls of the palace he continued to run until he finally stopped by a pond. He stood there breathing hard then decided to take his frustrations out on a nearby tree and started kicking it hard and hit it with his fists. Finally an hour later with his hands bloody, his legs hurting and body covered in sweat he stopped. He fell down to his knees placing his hands on the tree as he closed his eyes and leaned forward, "someone, anyone help me," he prayed then let a few tears drop for his lost soul. Unnoticed by him there was a god listening to his prayers, "soon Ulysses, soon you will find what you're looking for," the voice said as it watched Ulysses through a portal high up on Mount Olympus.

Ulysses sat there for a while as he looked out over the calm water wishing his raging body inside would be as calm as that water. He sat there for about another hour until he heard the pounding of hooves but he didn't even look up as the sound got louder but slowed down. "Hey Ulysses are you alright?" Virgil asked as he got down off of the horse and walked over to Ulysses who looked out at the water. Virgil looked at his best friend then stooped down next to him, "your mother was worried about you so she sent me to find you," he said then looked at the front of Ulysses' shirt which was wet and his eyes traveled down to his hand where he saw the bloodied mess. He looked at the tree Ulysses was leaning against and saw the blood and guess what pretty much happened. "Why don't I get you back to the palace so we can get your hands fixed up?" Virgil said as he placed his hand on Ulysses' shoulders and that seem to draw Ulysses out of whatever trance he was in and he looked at Virgil.

"You're my friend aren't you Virgil?" Ulysses asked and Virgil grinned at him, "of course, we're brothers," he said and Ulysses nodded then looked back out at the water. "If I were to leave this place would you come with me?" Ulysses asked and Virgil brow scrunched up in thought, "what do you mean? If you leave the pond?" Virgil asked and Ulysses shook his head, "If I leave Ithaca with the intentions of never coming back, would you leave with me?" Ulysses asked and Virgil looked at him the out at the water, "my family is here, all my friends Ithaca is all I've really ever known except when we've been in wars and stuff. But I guess, yea I would leave with you, travel the world and see what else is out there." Virgil said and he grinned and nodded as he thought about that, "yea I could do that, meet new women." He said and that brought a smile to Ulysses lips as he looked at his friend, "don't ever change," Ulysses said as he placed his hand against Virgil's face and Virgil looked into his friend's eyes seeing so much and most of what he saw he didn't like. "Why would I change when I like who I am?"

Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him, "at least you know who you are," he said and Virgil looked at him then took Ulysses' hand from his face. "Come on let's get your hands looked at," he said as he stood and he pulled Ulysses up with him. Ulysses wobbled some his legs still hurting and Virgil helped steady him, "I got mad and kicked the tree," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded as they walked over to the horse who was munching on some grass. "Yea that could be it or it could be you ran at least twenty miles from the palace," Virgil said as he got onto the horse then reached his arm down for Ulysses to grasp. "Yea that could be it too," Ulysses said as he took Virgil's arm and help pull himself up onto the horse. When he was on he settled himself behind Virgil and they rode back to the palace. Virgil didn't like the deathly silence so he found a mutual topic to talk about, "so how was Victoria?" He asked and smiled when he felt Ulysses chuckle, "she was a little hesitant at first but you know how fast that flies out the window."

Ulysses said and Virgil grinned and nodded and that was their topic, sex, while they rode back to the palace and when they got there Ulysses got down first then Virgil and a stable boy took the horse. They walked up the stairs entering the palace and then they walked to Ulysses room where his mother waited for him by his door. "Thank the gods you found him," Marguerite said and Ulysses just walked into his room heading to his bedroom. "I'll get some stuff for your hands," Virgil said as he walked into the bath chamber and Marguerite walked over to her son, "what did…?"

She started to ask but when she picked up Ulysses' hands she frowned at the damage. He took his hands from hers and walked over to the bed where he sat down, "its nothing," he said and she looked at him. "Ulysses," Marguerite started to say and he looked at her, "why didn't you say something? Why did you let him put all that on me?" Ulysses asked his mother and she looked at him as she walked over to him, "Ulysses your father believes he's doing what's right for you." She said and he shook his head, "he didn't even listen to me, I thought if I told him how I felt he would understand and maybe help me but if this is his version of help then I don't want it.

I want nothing from him," Ulysses said then stood and walked away from his mother and she turned and looked at her son. "All I want is to be able to find who I am what more I'm meant for and all he cares about is Ithaca." Ulysses said, "oh Ulysses that's not true, your father loves you." She said and Ulysses let out a disgusting chuckle at that, "yea, he loves me because I'm his heir but if he were to find out that this is not what I want to do." Ulysses said then shook his head, "Ulysses you said it yourself you don't know what you want. Your father is just trying to help you see that this is it, yet its not. A prince is who you are and a king is who you will be someday, he's just preparing you for it." Marguerite said then walked up to Ulysses placing her hand on his cheek and he looked at her, "oh my son you can't run from this. Ulysses why don't you give it a try you may see that this is indeed what you need," she said and he looked into her eyes and shook his head.

"I thought you understood me momma," he said in a sad lonely voice and she looked at him. Ulysses backed away from her touch and turned to walk over to the window where he looked out at the city. Marguerite looked down for a moment then looked up as Virgil walked back into the room and he looked at them as he walked over to the table where he placed the basin full of warm water that held a powder mixture in it down on the table. "What's wrong?" He asked them and Marguerite looked at her son then back at Virgil, "take care of my son," she said and Virgil looked at Marguerite as she turned and walked out of the room. Virgil shook his head then looked at Ulysses, "come over here will you?" He told his friend and Ulysses let out a breath and walked over to the table where he sat down. "Put your hands in the basin," Virgil said and Ulysses placed his hands in the water wincing at the herbs in the water began to clean his hands. Virgil grabbed some bandages and salve from a draw then walked back over to the table where he sat down.

"You want to tell me what happened that made you go all postal on the tree?" Virgil asked and Ulysses looked at his friend, "my father has decided to give me more duties." Ulysses said and then he explained what happened this morning as his hands soaked. "Man, that is a lot to be putting on you all at one time," Virgil said and Ulysses just let out a breath as Virgil took one of his hands out of the water and dried it off dabbing at the scarred skin on Ulysses' hand. "He's basically just put half of Ithaca's welfare in my hands," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded as he rubbed some of the salve on Ulysses' hand. "The thing that gets me is he basically ignored what I said, like what I was feeling didn't matter. I thought my mother understood me but she doesn't she sees that what my father is doing will be good for me in the long run." Ulysses said as Virgil started wrapping his hand, "well if you want I'll help you. My father has been getting on my case lately too; he thinks I should be doing more as an advisor because one day I'll take his place as head advisor."

Virgil said and Ulysses nodded, "isn't that something Virgil we don't even get a choice as to what we wanna do, who we wanna be. Kings, Queens, noblemen, we're all supposed to be so much better than the peasants we rule over, but if we're honest with ourselves they have more of a life than we'll ever have. Freedom is that they have and we don't have it at all, we're bound by the rules and appearances of royalty. Do you know the most freedom we've had is when we had to go fight in a war or battle. We explored, had a little fun, some wild times," Ulysses said and Virgil grinned and nodded as he wrapped Ulysses' other hand, "yea that's true and I've never thought about us being captive versus the villagers being free, but you're right it is like that." He said and Ulysses just let out a breath, "there's nothing I can do but suck it up and live with it," Ulysses said then looked at Virgil. "Thanks," he said referring to his hands and Virgil nodded, "there was one other time when we were free." Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him, "when?" He asked and Virgil grinned, "I can't believe you've forgotten," he said then let out a breath.

"How about our teenage years at the academy, you, me and Gary, started singing and ditching classes," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "yea, life was perfect up until three years ago," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him. "It's more like two years ago," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him then stood. "Maybe that's it, maybe I'm just having a hard time adjusting," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "Could be, maybe that's why we still sleep around so much," Virgil said and Ulysses hunched his shoulders as he sat down on his fresh made up bed. "Victoria was the first I've had in a month; I just haven't been feeling the excitement of it lately. Last night was good, she surprised me because we went three times but it just wasn't there." Ulysses said then looked at Virgil, "do you know what I'm talking about?" Ulysses asked and Virgil nodded as he stood and walked over to the bed sitting down. "Unfortunately I do, lately I've been feeling what you're feeling but I keep doing what I do hoping it'll go away but it hasn't."

Virgil said and they both let out sighs, "you know Virgil we're twenty five maybe its time that we do grow up," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him. "What do you mean? Like settling down, getting married, having children and actually taking our jobs seriously stuff like that?" Virgil asked and Ulysses grinned at his friend, "yea stuff like that but you don't have to do it all at once Virgil so you can relax," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded as he let out a breath. "I'm just thinking if maybe we should start acting like the men we are," Ulysses said and Virgil looked out at the room. "I guess," he said and they both continued to sit there for a while just thinking about what they had just discussed. The following week passed and Ulysses took his new duties seriously, his father often grinned at him and smiled as he son was doing a good job and becoming the man he knew he was. Ulysses put on a brave front but he felt like he was dying in the inside, things that use to matter to him didn't matter at all anymore. Virgil true to his word helped Ulysses with his work he was his right hand man the way Ulysses knew he would be even when Ulysses became King one day.

Ulysses spent a few nights with Victoria sometimes they just talked and other times they had sex all night since it was the only way Ulysses could feel alive. At breakfast, lunch and dinner he was quiet as he sat there and ate his food, he didn't really talk to his father if it didn't concern business and he was still upset with his mother for not helping him, for not taking his side and for not understanding. Camilla didn't talk to him because she was upset with him about Victoria and the face that they saw each other but Ulysses wouldn't really call it that. She was more of a good friend who he could vent to and at the same time received pleasure from being with her, he let her constantly know that what they shared wasn't going to evolve into anything and she said all the time she knew. Another week passed and things were still the same though Ulysses felt like he was getting worse, like he was suffocating in the inside. It was dinner time and they were all sitting at the table eating and they were all talking all except for Ulysses who heard them but at the same time he didn't.

"Ulysses, Ulysses did you hear me?" Camilla called and he raised his head and looked at her, "what?" He asked and she let out a breath as she looked at her brother. "What's wrong with you? You're just sitting there," Camilla said and he looked at her then let out a breath, "what do you want me to do Camilla jump around the room?" Ulysses asked his sister as he picked up his glass and took a deep gulp, "well it would be better than you just sitting there saying nothing," she said and he ignored her. "Your sister's right Ulysses, for two weeks now you've just been sitting there not saying anything, sulking about only gods know what." Julian said and Ulysses just hunched his shoulders, "so," he said, "so, what's wrong Ulysses?" His mother asked and he didn't look at her, "nothing," he said. "Well something's wrong and since you're obviously not going to tell us whatever is bothering you fix the problem so you can stop sulking."

Julian said and Ulysses slammed his glass down on the table as he looked at his father, "what do you want from me, what in Tartarus do you want? I mean you give me all these things to do and I do them and damn well, but its not enough for you, for any of you." He said and they looked at him, "Ulysses we're just concerned about you," Marguerite said to her, "well keep your concern I don't need it, I needed it two weeks ago you didn't give it to me then so I don't need it now." He said and Julian slammed his fist down on the table, "don't talk to your mother like that," he said and Ulysses let out breath as he picked up his glass to take a drink but his father knocked the glass out of his hand and Ulysses stood his eyes flashing and Julian stood too his eyes flashing as well; the whole dinning hall went quiet as they watched the scene unfold.

"I'm just about tired of all this Ulysses; so you're not happy with your current life we can't always have what we want. You have responsibilities here and its time you took them in grace. You are to be King one day Ulysses and its time that you act as a prince taking your responsibilities seriously and stop pouting because you're not getting your way. Stop acting like a petulant child," Julian yelled at his son and Ulysses looked at him, "you care nothing about me only about this island." Ulysses said as he shook his head, "Julian, Ulysses please," Marguerite said as she stood and put a calming hand on her husband's arm and looked at her son with pleading eyes. "I've done all that you've asked of me, but it isn't enough for you, it'll never be enough. You won't be happy until you've drained me of life until I'm as dead as you are," Ulysses said and the next thing Julian knew his hand flew out and he punched his son hard in the face. Ulysses' face turned to the side and blood rolled down the corner of his mouth.

"If I am drained of life it's because I've proudly made sure Ithaca remains full of life," Julian said his face full of anger as his own son disrespected him. Ulysses wiped the blood from his lip as he looked at his father, "and you want me to be exactly like you," he said and Ulysses shook his head. "That's one thing you will never get from me, never," Ulysses said then moved his chair out of the way, "don't turn your back on me," Julian yelled but Ulysses just continued to walk out of the dinning hall. Ulysses walked determinedly down the hall all most running into Virgil, "whoa where's the fire?"

Virgil asked then looked at Ulysses, "what happened to you?" Virgil asked and Ulysses looked at him, "I'm leaving," he said then started walking and Virgil turned and followed him. "What? What do you mean you're leaving?" Virgil asked trying to get some answers out of his friend, "I've had enough of it. Enough of them all trying to mold me into a man I don't want to be, I feel like the life is slowly draining from me and I won't let that happen. I won't become like my father the great King," Ulysses said and when he got to his room he went straight to the bedroom and to his closet where he grabbed two bags and started throwing clothes and items that meant something into them.

"Ulysses slow down and think, I mean you're upset don't do something you're gonna regret," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at his friend. "I'm not gonna regret it. I've been thinking about this for a while," Ulysses said then continued packing then stopped to turn and look at his best friend, his brother. "Come with me," he said and Virgil looked at him, "Ulysses I can't just drop everything and leave," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him. "Why not? You were mostly helping me and if I'm not here there's no reason for you to be here. What about what you said at the pond Virgil? You said you wouldn't mind experiencing some knew things, doing new things, meeting new women." Ulysses said and Virgil grinned, "I did say that didn't I?" He asked and Ulysses grinned and nodded and Virgil looked at him a smile coming to his lips, "I go where you go," he said as he held out his arm and Ulysses smiled as he grasped Virgil's arm in a warrior's handshake. "Brothers in arms," Ulysses said and Virgil grinned. "Let me go get my stuff," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded.

"We're leaving in secret so don't tell any body," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded and left the room quickly heading to get his things. Ulysses finished packing his bags then went over to his bed where he got down on his stomach and crawled his way underneath the bed crawling his way up to the head of the bed. When he was at the wall he pushed on two stones at the same time and a small piece of the wall moved to the side. Ulysses reached his hand inside and pulled out one sack then went in and pulled out two others. He pushed the stones again closing the wall then pushed the sacks from under the bed and he went behind them. He stood and grabbed the sacks placing them on the bed and he opened one; what the medium sack contained was money had been putting on the side since he couldn't remember when. He placed some clothes in the bottom of the bag then placed the three sacks in the bag that he had also pulled from the wall; he pushed the sacks down then placed a few pieces of clothes on the sides of the sacks and on the top cushioning them so that they didn't really make noise.

He pushed down on the bag then fastened it closed when he was done he looked around his room trying to see if there was anything else that he wanted to take with him and when he was sure he had everything he sat down at his desk and wrote his quick short note. "Ulysses," Victoria called and Ulysses spun around and looked at her, "are you alright?" She asked as she walked over to him and he turned back to his desk folding the note, "I will be," he said then stood and walked over to her. She looked at him then to his bed where she saw the packed bags, "are you going somewhere?" She asked and he looked at her, "I'm leaving Victoria and I don't mean to come back," he said and she looked at him. "But you…you can't just leave," she said and he looked at her. "I can and I am. Please understand Victoria I'm dying here I need to go out into the world and see for myself what I'm missing and hopefully I'll find what I've been looking for." He said and she looked into her eyes then looked down as she nodded, "I'm going to miss you," she said and he looked at her then walked up closer to her pulling her into his arms as they shared a hug.

"I'm going to miss you too, you were a good friend to me Victoria and I enjoyed being with you, talking with you," Ulysses said and when he pulled back from the hug he placed his hands on the sides of her face looking at the tears that feel from her eyes. He looked into her eyes and shook his head, "don't." He said and she looked at him, "don't wait for me Victoria. Live your life to the fullest, fall in love with a nice man who I know will be lucky to have you as his wife." He said and she looked at him then looked down but he made her look back at him, "oh Victoria I warned you, I told you if you didn't want trouble if you didn't want to get hurt stay away from me. I'm hurting you now I see it, I'm breaking your heart and I never wanted to do that, but I can't be the man you're looking for, I can't be what you need." He told her and she nodded, "I know, but still I couldn't stop it, I couldn't stop myself from feeling." She said and he looked at her, "promise me you'll forget about me, promise me you'll fall in love and get married be happy. I want that for you Victoria," he said and she looked into his eyes and nodded, "I promise."

She said and he nodded, "I need you to do something for me," Ulysses said, "anything, "Victoria replied and Ulysses handed her the note he wrote. "This note is for my mother, give it to her two weeks after I've been gone," Ulysses said and Victoria looked at him. "I know it'll be hard, she'll be worried about me, probably crying. She always did worry a lot," he said with a small grin then looked back at Victoria. "But it is important that you give it to her no later than a week, I don't want them finding me. Promise me," Ulysses said and Victoria nodded, "I promise." She said and Ulysses nodded then looked up as Virgil walked into the room and Victoria turned and looked at him then back at Ulysses. "Be safe," she said and he grinned at her, "of course," he said then hugged her again. When the hug ended he placed a kiss on her forehead, "goodbye," he said then grabbed his bags off of the bed and walked towards Virgil and the left the room; Victoria sat down on Ulysses' bed with his note in her hands as she shed tears for what would never be.

Ulysses and Virgil walked down the hall making sure no one saw them and then Ulysses stopped at a closet door, he opened it and walked inside. "What are you doing?" Virgil asked and Ulysses grabbed him pulling him into the room with him and closing the door behind him. "Ulysses why are we in this broom closet?" Virgil asked and Ulysses looked at him then started moving a few boxes out of the way. "You were never shown this were you?" Ulysses asked as he looked at the wall for something, "I was never shown what?" Virgil asked and when Ulysses found what he was looking for he pushed down on a stone in the wall and the wall began sliding to the side. "This," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at the secret passage way, "no I didn't know about this passage." Virgil said and Ulysses nodded as he picked up his bags placing the one with the gold in it on his back since it was the heaviest, "that's because it was for royalty only. Only a few people know of it," Ulysses said and Virgil followed him through the passage way and Ulysses grabbed a torch from the wall light it with a spark from the two stones he hit together.

The torch lit and the small passage way was lit up; Ulysses turned and searched for the stone that would close the wall and when he found it he pushed it and the wall closed and they began walking. "Where does this lead?" Virgil asked, "out of the palace and out of the city," he said and so they walked for a half an hour and when they finally reached the exit Ulysses found the stone and pushed on it watching as the wall slide out. They walked out into the fresh night air and Ulysses put out the torch placing in back in the passage way in a holder then closed the wall back. "I see no one's been this way in a while," Virgil said as they looked at the over grown veins and bushes and Ulysses nodded as he pulled his sword and went to work creating a path. When he was done they made their way out of the brush and walked into the forest. "I'm assuming we're heading to the docks," Virgil said and Ulysses shook his head. "Nope, I want no trace of me anywhere," Ulysses said. "Then where are we going? Ulysses?" Virgil called as they continued walking.

They walked for two and a half hours, getting out of the forest then walking up hills that turned into a little bit of rough terrain. The next thing Virgil knew they were climbing down a mountain and when they hit the bottom there was a cave on the other side and a ship that sat in the water. They walked over to it, "hey Ulysses," a voice called from the ship and they looked towards it and Ulysses grinned. "Danny," he said and he and Virgil walked up the plank to the ship and when they were on Danny walked over and grasped Ulysses' arm. "I was wondering if perhaps you had changed your mind," he said and Ulysses shook his head, "just needed the opportunity," he said then turned and looked at Virgil. "Danny this is my best friend Virgil, Virgil this is Danny he's one of Ithaca's smaller traders." Ulysses said and Danny smiled, "pleased to meet you, any friend of Ulysses' is a friend of mine. I owe my life to this man here," Danny said and Ulysses grinned at him.

"Are we ready to go?" Ulysses asked and Danny nodded, "alright lets get to work, I want to be away from here in ten minutes," Danny yelled to his crew and Ulysses grinned. "Make yourselves at home, we'll be about a week and a half at sea," Danny said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. Ulysses headed below deck and Virgil followed him; when they were below Ulysses chose one of the hammocks that didn't seemed claimed by anyone and Virgil chose another. "You've been thinking about this for quite some time," Virgil said as he watched Ulysses fix up his hammock and Ulysses looked at him. "That surprises you?" Ulysses asked and Virgil shook his head as he rolled up two small blankets to make a pillow then sat down on the hammock, "not really you've been like this for a while now. I kind of know how you feel?" Virgil said, "do you?" Ulysses asked as he laid down using the bag that held the gold as a pillow, it was a hard pillow but he meant to keep the money safe.

"I don't think you really know Virgil; I felt like I was suffocating, like someone was slowly squeezing the life out of me. Slowly dying," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "oh I know, but I didn't have the responsibilities you did to help increase that feeling. But I do know it," Virgil said and Ulysses turned and looked at his friend, "why didn't you ever try to leave Virgil, you have more freedom than me. I don't think Lucius would have opposed of you going out and doing things if he thought you were doing them for Ithaca." Ulysses said and Virgil grinned, "yea right, my father wanted to have as much control over me as the king had over you. He was always harassing me about one thing or another, that's why I was always out and I praised you when you asked me to move into the place. I thought finally a little freedom," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded. "When I have my children I'm never going to be this hard on them, I'll let them be who they want to be," Ulysses said, "even if they your heir doesn't want to be King or Queen?"

Virgil asked, "especially, I know I'll understand it," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "So where are we headed?" Virgil asked and Ulysses let out a breath of relief as he felt the ship drifting further and further away from his prison away from the place he was his home, he knew deep in his heart he could never really escape it but he was try hard. "I don't know; I was thinking of having Danny drop us off some where in Macedonia and we could travel from there. See what things we can see, do what things we can do," Ulysses said, "sleep with what women we can sleep with," Virgil said with a smile on his face and Ulysses chuckled at his friend. "Yea," Ulysses said, "sounds great. Good thing I brought some money with me though we might need it, with all the inns we'll be sleeping in." Virgil said and Ulysses shook his head at his friend, "don't go throwing money around Virgil. We're only sleeping in Inns when we have to, other than that we're roughing it," Ulysses said and Virgil groaned.

"You're so spoiled," Ulysses said with a grin as he turned on his side facing away from Virgil. "I don't want to stand out Virgil I want to blend in like we are normal, average people. I don't want anyone to know who I am, in fact I'm changing my name." Ulysses said and Virgil rolled his eyes, "whatever all I know is if you're gonna completely change yourself we're gonna have to get some new clothes 'cause these say that we have money." Virgil said and Ulysses nodded, "yea I guess you're right, I'll think about it more tomorrow right now I'm tired." Ulysses said and Virgil looked over at his friend then turned on his side and thought about the new life he was about to start. Ulysses closed his eyes and just thought about how he was finally about to be free, "free," he mumbled in his sleep and then he fell into Morpheus' arms welcoming peaceful dreams.

**Amphipolis…**

The town of Amphipolis was in the backwoods some would say, but the town was better than some and at the most the people seemed to live in peace going about their days without trouble. In the center of the town was its tavern and Inn, the Innkeepers name was Cyrene and she had three children. Tow handsome sons and a daughter; her two sons, Toris who was the oldest and Lyceus who was the youngest, were handfuls together, but her daughter, Xena, she was a handful all by herself. Tall, intelligent and the most beautiful girl in her village, with hair as black as the night sky and deep, piercing blue eyes that reminded you of the ocean on a clear day. However Xena wasn't your ordinary village girl, she wanted more out of life than to get married and bare children. It wasn't that she didn't want those things, on the contrary she did, she wanted to have her own family, but she just felt that she wasn't in that particular place in her life right now.

Her mother often pushed her about doing lady like things but Xena didn't want that, it wasn't who she was. She wanted to learn how to fight and she had in fact, she was learning from the best there were and when her mother found out who was training her Cyrene seem to see that her daughter did have a greater purpose in this life, so she stopped harassing her about doing those lady like things. It was a late evening and Xena sat in her room on her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest as she looked out of the window while she thought.

Xena spent most of her days helping her mother around the Inn while her brothers tended to the fields they had. Other days she spent practicing her sword drills and exercising, keeping her body in perfect shape. She sat there and thought about how she felt that her life was missing something, that there was a greater purpose but she didn't know what it was. Even with the things she did she still felt lost, alone and just plain old empty. Try as she might she couldn't fill that void and it didn't help that she was seemed strange among her own people.

Because she thought for herself and was able to protect herself more than other men could protect themselves, men didn't approach her about courting her so she was left alone and that made her feel even more alone. Xena just sat there and thought until there was a knock at her door, "yea," she said as she turned her head towards the door and she grinned as her younger brother, Lyceus walked in. "Mother said you didn't get anything to eat for dinner so I brought you something," Lyceus said and Xena smiled at her brother as he walked over and placed the tray on the table then walked over to the bed sitting down next to his sister. "Are you alright?" He asked and she nodded, "yea I'm fine," she said as she looked at her brother. He had light brown, curly hair that went perfectly with his skin and his body was built quite nicely which came from working in the fields all day and sometimes practicing with her. "You don't seem okay," he said and she looked at her little brother, "something's bothering me but I don't really know what it is.

It's like I've lost something or maybe there's something out there that'll help me find myself, fill this void in my heart." Xena said and Lyceus looked at his sister, "I don't know Xe it seems like it's a problem only you can handle." He said and she nodded then gave her brother a small grin, "thank you for bringing me the food," she said and he smiled at her as he wrapped his arm around her pulling him against her chest and she smiled as she leaned against him. "You're welcome, I only wish I could help you with your problem. I hate seeing you so unhappy," he told his sister and she grinned at him. She and Lyceus were close, they were the best of friends and she loved her brother deeply. "Maybe when I find out what's bothering me you can help me then," she said and Lyceus nodded then placed a kiss on her forehead. Lyceus stood and looked down at Xena, "eat and get some rest maybe that'll help," Lyceus said and Xena grinned and nodded. He smiled at her then turned and walked out of the room closing the door behind him.

Xena let out a breath then stood and walked over to the table where she sat down and ate what was brought to her. When she was finished she decided since she wasn't sleepy and it would probably be hard for her to get to sleep she would tire herself out. She went upstairs to the kitchen where she sat the tray down on the corner, "could you use some help mother?" Xena asked her mother and Cyrene turned her attention away from the dishes she was washing and looked at her daughter. "I could," she said with a grin and Xena grinned and nodded and left the kitchen heading into the dinning area of the Inn where she helped clean up. When they were done Xena looked at her mother, "I'm gonna go for a run I'll be back in an hour," Xena said and Cyrene nodded. "Alright but be careful," Cyrene told her daughter and Xena grinned and nodded, "always," she said then walked over to her mother placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Good night mom," she said, "good night dear," Cyrene said then watched as her daughter walked out of the back door in the kitchen and into the cool night's air. Running often helped her clear her mind or think more clearly about things so as she ran she tried to get in touch with that part of herself that seemed to be looking for something, but try as she might she couldn't find it. She let out a breath as she stopped by the lake she ran to and just looked out at the water then closed her eyes and let the breeze sweep over her, her hair blowing beautifully in the wind. She stood there and then all of a sudden she jumped up and flipped in the air as an energy ball came towards her when she landed she landed softly on her feet and looked towards her attacker. "Always prepared," a voice said and then a golden shower of sparkles herald Athena's arrival and she looked at Xena. "You always taught me to be prepared," Xena said and Athena nodded. "Your training is coming along beautifully, the best I've had yet," Athena said and Xena nodded and Athena looked at her, "You seem distracted, what's the matter?"

Athena asked and Xena looked at her then let out a breath as she turned back and looked out at the water, "I just…" Xena said then shook her head. "I don't know…I feel like I'm missing something or should be doing something more. Before you started training me I was lost, I didn't know what I wanted to do…no that's not right. I knew I wanted to fight, but with the life I live, with the things that were expected of me how could I do what I wanted. Now that you've started training me its like my life became clear, becoming your chosen meant that I was meant for something more in this life and I would do something more. I was happy and now…" Xena said, "and now?" Athena asked as she looked out over the water, "now I feel like there's more out there. More for me, something is calling to me and I don't know what." Xena said then turned and looked at Athena, "am I missing something Athena? And if I am what is it that's causing me to feel this way? Like I won't be complete until I find what I'm looking for," Xena said and Athena turned to look at her chosen seeing in the depth of her eyes how she was searching for answers.

As her chosen Athena was bound to Xena so she felt what Xena felt, but it was more than that. Athena felt almost motherly towards Xena or maybe an older sister whatever it was she couldn't stand to see her in such pain. She placed her hand on Xena's cheek as she looked into her eyes, "yes Xena you are missing something, something very important in your life and you'll never reach your full potential until you've found it." Athena said and Xena looked at her, "then tell me what it is so that I may seek it," Xena said and Athena grinned at her. "Oh my dear Xena you still have much to learn, you can't always find what you're looking for, sometimes you have to let it find you. That is so in this case," Athena said and Xena let out a breath as she looked up at the sky tears of frustration in her eyes but she didn't want her goddess to see her tears, she didn't want to seem weak in front of this great being that had took her under her wing, made her believe in herself and who had taught her so much in the two years since she appeared before her.

"You could never be weak in my eyes Xena," Athena said reading some of Xena's thoughts and Xena looked at the goddess and try as she might she couldn't stop the tear that rolled down her cheek. "Oh Xena you are meant to do so much, many great things," Athena said as she wiped the tear away while looking into Xena's eyes. "But what you're looking for, what's calling to you will be the greatest thing you'll ever accomplish in this life." Athena said and Xena looked into her eyes with wonder in hers, "fear not, what you're looking for will be here soon," Athena said then grinned. "Only it may take you awhile to realize it," Athena said and Xena looked at her. "What do you mean?" She asked and Athena smiled at her, "come now, I can't tell you everything. Life wouldn't be as exciting as it is if I go around telling you every wonderful thing that's about to happen to you," Athena said and Xena grinned and nodded. "Come you need your rest," Athena said as she held out her hand and Xena took the goddess' hand and suddenly she felt the world swirl around her and as quick as it started it ended and she found herself standing at the back of the Inn by the back door of the kitchen.

"Thanks," Xena said and Athena grinned and nodded then looked at Xena running her hand over the leather strap that Xena wore on her upper right arm. "In time you won't have to hide my mark, the people of Amphipolis, the world will come to accept you and see you for the great woman you are and the great things you will do." Athena said and Xena grinned at her, "Athena can I ask one thing?" Xena asked and Athena gave her head a nod, "will I like it? This thing that I'm missing?" Xena asked and Athena grinned at her, "I can assure you you'll love it," she said then leaned forward and placed a kiss on Xena's forehead. "Sweet dreams my daughter," Athena said and Xena grinned at the goddess then turned and headed into the Inn and when she turned around to close the door Athena was gone. Xena grinned to herself as she closed the door and locked it then went to her room where she got ready for bed. That night Xena fell asleep and she had wonderful dreams about how she would find what she was looking for and finally be happy.

The next morning came and Xena was up bright and early beating the sun; she decided to go for another run and as she ran she practiced her flips and a few sword drills. When she reached the end of her run she did more sword drills then some push ups and sit ups. When she was done she ran back to the Inn where she quickly took a shower and got ready for the day. She walked into the kitchen where her mother already had breakfast underway, "good morning mom," Xena said as she grabbed her apron from the hook on the wall and put it on. "Good morning dear, did you have a good run last night and this morning?" She asked and Xena grinned and nodded, "yep," she said as she began helping her mother cook. Cyrene grinned at her daughter, cooking had been the one thing she had been able to get Xena to pick up and she picked it up well. Xena cooked well and Cyrene also was able to get her to pick up sewing, Xena had fast hands and nimble fingers which came in handy when something needed sewing and quickly.

"Good morning ladies," an older woman around Cyrene's age said as she walked into the kitchen through the back door, "good morning Corrinna," they said and unison. "Something smells good," she said as she walked over to the stove and looked down into the pots. She was ready to stick her finger in when Cyrene smacked it away with the wooden spoon she was using. "Gods Cy you know that thing hurts," Corrinna complained and Xena smiled as she watched Corrinna rub her hand and Cyrene looked at her as she stood with one hand on her hip. "Serves you right for getting ready to stick your finger in my pot," Cyrene said and Corrinna shook her head as she walked over to a chair and sat down. "You're lethal Cyrene," Corrinna said and Xena chuckled at that, "you have no idea," Xena said. "Xena I have a lot of things to see to today so I was wondering if you could come over to the house and help me, if your mother will let you go." Corrinna said and Cyrene grinned at her, "its fine with me," Cyrene said and Xena nodded.

"Corrinna you know I don't mind helping you but you really should get a healer apprentice," Xena said with a grin and Corrinna smiled at her, "I have one," she said and Xena looked at her. "Oh yeah? Who is it?" She asked and Corrinna looked at her, "I'm looking at her," she said and Xena raised her head. "Me? I'm not your apprentice," Xena said. "But you are, I've basically taught you everything I know about healing and considering what I know and how good you are at it I'd say you're a great apprentice the best I've ever had." Corrinna said with pride in her voice and Xena smiled at her, "if you say so," Xena said and Cyrene grinned at them. Xena may not have been the type of daughter she had once hoped for but she was definitely a daughter that she was extremely proud of. _'Now only if I can get her married'_ Cyrene thought _'if only I could get them all married'_ she thought again as she thought about her children. She was proud of them all; her sons tending to the fields while she and Xena tended to the Inn, but none of them seemed to want to settle down.

Toris who was her oldest and he was twenty six had three girlfriends but the relationships never really lasted. She wasn't really worried about Lyceus who was her youngest at the age of seventeen he had some time yet to find a wife though he pretty much ignored all of the village girls who swooned over him. And then there was Xena, her gorgeous daughter, but because she wasn't like most girls and because she could beat up most men, most men didn't want to be bothered with her and those that took a chance she politely dismissed them and when they continued to harass her should would get forceful in making her point that she wasn't interested. Cyrene began to wonder if she would ever be a grandmother.

**Continued in**

**Chapter Two: Ulysses' Quest**

Let me know what you think, positive and negative feedback

is welcomed and encouraged. 


	2. Chapter 2

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. Just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played. So the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. lol If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if its too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination.

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together.

**Chapter Two: Ulysses' Quest**

It had been two days since Ulysses left Ithaca and on the day that he couldn't be found, King Julian had all of the guards and soldiers looking everywhere for him. "Julian you don't think something has happen to him do you? Maybe he was kidnapped?" Marguerite asked her husband as she held onto his hand and he shook his head as he looked down at the map of Ithaca wondering where his son could be. It was the second day and they were still looking for Ulysses, but what they found the day before in his room suggested that he left on his own.

"He'll be fine my love," Julian said, though he wished in his heart that he could believe that. "Excuse me my lord," a voice said from the door and Julian turned around and looked at his head advisor, Lucius. "Yes Lucius," Julian said and he walked into Julian's office closing the door behind him. "I thought you may like to know that Virgil is gone also," he said and Julian looked at him.

"I thought he had spent the night with some woman or just decided not to come home, that's why I didn't say anything yesterday, but I had this feeling so I went into his room this morning and some of his clothes are gone as well as some important things to him." Lucius said and Julian let out a breath as he sat down heavily in his chair, "tell the guards to stop searching Ithaca," Julian said and Lucius opened the door and relayed the message to the guard outside. "But Julian why?" Marguerite asked in a pained voice and he let out a breath, "because they aren't on Ithaca.

They've run away, my son has run away," he said then placed his elbows on the table and ran his fingers through his hair. "It makes sense; he and Virgil are like brothers, Virgil would follow him any where and I've sensed the same restlessness in Virgil that you've sensed in Ulysses." Lucius said and Julian let out a breath as he raised his head, "I want the head of the guard and the head of the army in the war room at noon. Our sons will be found," Julian said and Lucius nodded, "perhaps Julian, we should give them this time.

I believe they've run away because they want to figure things out for themselves and maybe they feel that they need to be on their own to do it. Give them a couple of weeks, a month at best and they'll probably be back, Virgil is spoiled he'll want the luxuries of the palace life back." Lucius said and Julian looked at him, "maybe he's right Julian, maybe we should give them this time. Who knows, Ulysses could come back with a better attitude and finally ready to take his place at your side," Marguerite said as she caressed his cheek and Julian looked into her eyes then let out a breath, "are you sure Marguerite?" Julian asked and she nodded, "very well Lucius, I'll give them a month and after that we're sending out search parties to find them and drag them back home, kicking and screaming if we have to." Julian said and Lucius nodded, "I agree," he said then turned and left the office closing the door behind him.

Julian stood and walked over to the window in his office and Marguerite walked up behind him, "he'll be back Julian, he wouldn't just abandon us, he wouldn't abandon his family," Marguerite said as she placed her hands on Julian's back and he just looked out of the window. "I want to believe that Marguerite, but the look in his eyes after I hit him said he had enough." Julian said then turned and looked at his wife, "I'm afraid I may have pushed him too hard my love," he said and Marguerite stepped closer to her husband then placed her hand on his cheek as she looked into his eyes.

"Ulysses is a strong man Julian, you wouldn't have pushed so hard if you didn't believe he could handle it. I think he just needs some time to sort things out," she said and Julian looked at her. "I hope you're right my love, I hope you're right," he said and she walked up closer to him laying her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around him and he wrapped his arms around her. Marguerite believed her son would come back because she couldn't stand the thought that she would never see him again, Julian however knew differently, he could now see how he had pushed his son too hard. He pushed him so hard that Ulysses felt that he had to leave that he had to escape his father's grasp.

Julian ran his hand over Marguerite's hair as he placed a kiss on her forehead, "you're right my love he wouldn't abandon us," he said and that much Julian did believe, he believed that Ulysses had a strong regard for family and he wouldn't abandon them when they needed him; that he made sure he instilled in his son.

**At sea…**

It was a beautiful day at sea, the sun was shinning brightly, the wind was blowing and the sky was so clear. On the ship that carried Ulysses and Virgil to their new lives everything was well. In fact in Ulysses' eyes everything was real good, he was feeling great, better than he had in a long time and that was just by being free of Ithaca. They had already been out a week at sea and they were both enjoying themselves. "So have you decided on a name yet?" Virgil asked as he attacked Ulysses who grinned at his friend as he fought off the attack with ease, "yea I think I like Thomas," Ulysses said and Virgil grinned at his friend then ducked as Ulysses swung at his head. They were on deck where there was some space and they weren't in anyone's way as they sparred. They were both shirtless and sweat covered their bodies since they had been at for about an hour. "Not bad," Virgil said, "and what will your name be?" Ulysses asked and Virgil looked at him as he blocked Ulysses' attack, "who said I was changing my name, I like it very much, thank you," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned.

"Fine, fine keep your name, Virgil is common enough," Ulysses said and Virgil stopped and looked at Ulysses, "common? My name is not common," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at his friend and hunched his shoulders. "If you say so but I know of at least three other Virgil's that live somewhere in Greece." Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him, "well I guess changing my name couldn't hurt," he said. _'Gotcha,'_ Ulysses thought to himself and he and Virgil continued sparring. "I've got it," Virgil said and they stopped for a minute, "what do you think about Zachary or Andrew?" Virgil asked and Ulysses placed his sword on his shoulder as he thought about it. "Andrew…Andrew, yea I like that," Ulysses said and Virgil grinned and nodded. "Alright, Andrew it is," he said then flipped his sword in his hand, "now Andrew is about to kick Thomas' ass," he said with a grin and Ulysses grinned as he readied himself.

"Let's see you do it then Andrew," Ulysses said and so they began sparring again stopping an hour later. Ulysses walked over to a barrel of water and scooped some up into his hands and splashed it onto his face; he wet the towel that was thrown across his shoulder and wiped his face, neck, shoulders and chest off. He headed back down to the sleeping area where he walked over to his hammock and grabbed his shirt putting it on then sat down. "So have you figured out where we're going yet?" Virgil asked and Ulysses looked over at his friend who was relaxing, "Macedonia and I figured we just visit village from village until we find something that catches our eye. Permanently catches our eyes," Ulysses said seeing the grin on Virgil's face no doubt thinking about the first interesting girl he met and would sleep with. "Spoil sport," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned, "I'm not saying you can't have fun Virgil, I'm just saying we can't stay in one spot for too long and don't get there and start throwing money around."

Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "alright, alright I get your point, you want to remain unfound. But let me ask you this, when are you going to stop running?" Virgil asked and Ulysses let out a breath as he laid down, "when I find what I'm looking for." He said, "and you know what Virgil, I hope you find something special too," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "yea I hope so too but that doesn't mean I won't enjoy myself to the fullest until I do." He said and Ulysses chuckled at his friend. The days passed pretty much like this with them enjoying themselves more than they had in a while, two weeks had now passed, there being no wind for a couple of days slowing them down. But in the last day in the second week Ulysses and Virgil set foot on Macedonian soil. "Thanks a lot Danny," Ulysses said as he grasped arms with the man and Danny smiled at him, "it was no problem I was happy to do it." Danny said and Ulysses grinned at him, "remember you haven't seen us," Ulysses said and Danny nodded.

"Good luck," Danny said and they waved at him and began on their way heading towards a forest since they weren't at a dock. So they began their journey and it was night fall when they made it to the village of Carne; it was a quiet village but when they made it to the tavern they found that's where all the excitement was. Virgil's eyes lit up and Ulysses grinned and shook his head at his friend. "I need two rooms," Ulysses said and the tavern owner looked at him, "it'll be seven dinars," he said and Ulysses looked at him then pulled seven dinars out of the pouch on his waist and setting them on the bar. The man picked up the dinars and looked at them as if he were trying to see if they were real and where Ulysses and Virgil were from; Ulysses thanked Danny at that moment for suggesting they trade money. "Here," the man said gruffly as he placed the keys on the bar and Ulysses took them then walked over to the table in the back where Virgil had already made himself comfortable with a drink in his hand and a girl on his lap.

"Couldn't wait a minute could you?" Ulysses asked his friend and Virgil grinned at him then looked at the girl, "nope," he said and Ulysses grinned at him then picked up his own drink that was sitting on the table. They ate dinner and listened to the entertainment which was some music, it wasn't the best but that's all there was. Virgil enjoyed himself with the woman on his lap and Ulysses sat there a while longer as he looked around the room. _'Well whatever I'm looking for is definitely not here'_ he thought to himself then stood and headed upstairs.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Virgil asked and Ulysses turned and looked at him, "yea," he said and Virgil looked at him. "Man, Ulysses, you've got to learn how to relax, grab yourself one of these beautiful women," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned at his friend. "No thanks, but I'll tell you what, you have enough fun for the both of us," he said and Virgil grinned at him. "If you say so," he said then sat back down, the woman sitting back down on his lap and Ulysses shook his head as he headed upstairs to his room. He sat his bags down on the floor placing the one with the gold in it under his pillow then laid down on the bed, Ulysses thought to himself that he had been in better camps than this tavern looked.

When morning came he went down for breakfast which was a little better than dinner, when he was done he knocked on Virgil's door, knocked and knocked until finally he decided to pick the lock. When he walked into the room he found clothes scattered all over the place and Ulysses shook his head as he picked up Virgil's clothes then walked over to the bed where Virgil lay on his back and the woman from last night had her head on his chest. "Virgil, Virgil," Ulysses called and the man only groaned. Ulysses hit his friend on the face and Virgil jumped up in bed with his dagger in hand and Ulysses looked at him, "I don't think that would be much help since if I were an assassin you would have been dead long ago.

I've been in your room for like three minutes," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him through tired eyes. "Oh…well what do you want?" Virgil asked and Ulysses dropped Virgil's clothes onto his chest, "get dressed, we're going to look around then we're leaving." Ulysses said and Virgil groaned as he grabbed his clothes pushing them to the side as he sat up on the side of the bed, "Ulysses," Virgil started to say but Ulysses cut him off. "No, you shouldn't have had so much too drink and stayed up all night last night."

Ulysses said then turned and looked at his friend who fell back on the bed, "I'll see you downstairs in ten minutes," Ulysses said and Virgil waved his hand at his friend and Ulysses walked out of the door. Ulysses went and got his things out of the room and headed downstairs he sat down there for a while looking around the room at the type of people they came and left and he could tell this was definitely not a place for him to be. He looked up at Virgil who came walking downstairs with his bags in his hands and a tired look on his face; he walked over to the table and flopped down in his chair. "You ready to go?" Ulysses asked his friend and Virgil looked at him with a 'you can't be serious' look on his face and Ulysses grinned at him. "Come on," he said and Virgil let out a breath as he stood and followed Ulysses out of the tavern. "Come on Virgil, it's a brand new day, the sun shinning," Ulysses said as he clapped his friend on the back, "and just think of the next town we get to, where there will be a new conquest for you."

Ulysses said and Virgil kind of perked up at that and so they continued walking and looked around the village where they didn't see much so they walked out until they were out of the village and started heading to the next village or town. "So, how was your night last night?" Ulysses asked and Virgil grinned at him, "man Ulysses she was so good, I was seriously going to ask you if you wanted in on the action but I got stingy." Virgil said and Ulysses chuckled at him and they talked as they continued walking. For the next couple of days they spent the night camping in the forest which actually wasn't as bad as Virgil thought it was going to be, he actually liked camping under the stars and Ulysses grinned as he looked up at the many stars while the fire in the middle of the camp crackled. He liked camping too, he liked it better then staying in that tavern they had first stayed in and since they weren't in a rush their pace of walking was unhurried and they basically ate whatever was caught.

A week passed by and they finally made it to the second village which was slightly better than the last, but unfortunately for Virgil there were no women to be had but he and Ulysses did participate in a little gambling. However since they were winning, the guys they were playing with, thought they were cheating and the next thing everyone knew a fight broke out in the Inn and Ulysses and Virgil were kicked out. "Man just because we were winning and just because we kicked their asses did not mean the innkeeper had to kick us out," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned at him. "Look at it this way, at least we can buy some things with the money we have, maybe buy ourselves a ride so we can stop walking." Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "yea a horse would be good," he said, "I didn't say anything about a horse," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him. "Then what are you talking about?" Virgil asked and Ulysses just grinned and they continued walking with Virgil letting out a frustrated breath.

"Thomas this wasn't exactly what I had in mind," Virgil said as they rode in a wagon that bounced constantly as if they were hitting every bump and hole in the ground. "Well Andrew we can't afford to get two horses," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him shaking his head. "Come on Andrew this is better than walking we had been walking for another week and hadn't reached a village," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him. "It's not much better than walking; my feet will be fine but my butt will be killing me. And anyway we can afford two horses," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him. "Not without using the money from Ithaca," Ulysses said in a low breath and Virgil let out a breath as he leaned back. "I promise I'll make up for this," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at his friend, "yea well, the next time we'll just keep walking or find a road less bumpy," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned, "or perhaps someone who knows how to drive," Ulysses said in a low voice and Virgil grinned at his friend and they hit their fists together, a sign of friendship that they had come up with when they were children.

Ulysses grinned then leaned back with his knees bent and his arms resting on his thighs as he looked up at the sky, "just wait my friend, things are going to get better I can feel it." Ulysses said and Virgil grinned at him and nodded and they just relaxed until finally two hours after lunch they reached the next town. Virgil smiled as he hoped out of the wagon, "now this is what I'm talking about," he said as he looked around the live town and Ulysses smiled as he looked around as well. He paid the wagon driver who was an old man and then walked up to Virgil, "lets get us some rooms and they we can look around," Ulysses said and Virgil grinned and nodded, especially as his head followed a young woman who passed by. Ulysses smiled as he wrapped his arm around Virgil's shoulder as they headed down the busy streets of the town and towards what looked like the Inn. The Inn wasn't overly crowded when they walked in but then again it was after lunch. "Hi, what can I get for you?" The woman behind the bar asked and Ulysses smiled at her, "we would like two of your rooms," Ulysses said and she grinned at him.

"That'll be ten dinars a piece for the rooms and meals are three as are baths," she said and Ulysses nodded and went into his pouch then handed the woman forty dinars giving her a little extra and she smiled her thanks at him. "Thanks," she said and Ulysses nodded, "what's your name?" He asked and she looked at him, "Daphne, this is my father's establishment," she said and Ulysses nodded as he looked around the Inn. "This is a nice Inn, definitely better than some I've been in," he said then looked at Daphne, "Daphne huh?" He asked and she nodded, "that's a pretty name for a beautiful young woman such as yourself," he said and she grinned then blushed as she looked down and Ulysses grinned at her. "I'll see you later Daphne," Ulysses said as he picked up the keys as began walking away, "wait I didn't catch your name," she said and Ulysses turned and grinned at her. "Thomas," he said then winked at her as he turned away and walked over to Virgil who was waiting for him by the stairs with a grin on his face.

"So I see you plan on having fun tonight," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned as he handed Virgil his key, "maybe, maybe not," he said as they began walking up the stairs. They went up to their rooms which were next to each other; they dropped off their bags and Ulysses made sure his money was secure before he left the room making sure he locked it and then they headed downstairs. They sat down at a table and Daphne brought over their drinks and Ulysses grinned at her, "thanks," he said and she grinned at him. "Daphne this is my friend Andrew, Andrew the beautiful lady Daphne," Ulysses said and Virgil held out his hand and she placed her hand in it. "It's nice to meet you," he said then brought her hand up to his lips kissing the back of it and she blushed causing Virgil to grin. "I'll have your food right out," she said, "take your time," Ulysses said and she grinned then turned and walked away Ulysses eyeing her body as she did so. "I think you may have a virgin on your hands," Virgil whispered to Ulysses as they looked at her. "I don't think so, she's just shy," Ulysses said then picked up his drink and sipped on it.

They ate their late lunch and then decided to do a little exploring of the village together and then on their own. Ulysses basically bought some bread, cheese and some fruit, along with a bag to put it all in. He bought some things he would need for a just in case occasion, among the things he bought was some rope, two daggers and a few small pouches of herbs for cooking and herbs for medical uses. Ulysses hung around in the kitchens enough at home to know what herbs would make food taste good and he also hung around the healer's tent during wars and battles and he picked up on a thing or two. When he was done he headed back to the Inn and put the things in his room then headed back down stairs and sat at the bar. "So Daphne, you enjoy your work?" Ulysses asked and she grinned at him, "yea, I love meeting new people or talking with those I know. Sometimes there's something new going on here at breakfast, lunch or dinner and other times it's just the same old thing, but trust me the same old thing isn't so bad when you've had a rough couple of days."

She said and Ulysses grinned at her and nodded, "I'm sure," he said and she looked at him. "So Thomas where are you from?" She asked and he grinned at her, "around." He said and she grinned at him and looked down as she wiped the counter, "I'm asking too many questions aren't I? My father says sometimes I talk too much," she said and Ulysses grinned at her as he looked at her. "It's fine Daphne, really and you weren't talking too much, in fact I was enjoying the conversation. It's just that I don't like to think about where I came from," Ulysses said and Daphne nodded. "I can understand that I guess, my mom, before she died, didn't like to talk about where she came from." Daphne said and Ulysses nodded, "when you're trying to start a new life it can be hard if you keep thinking about the past, where you came from, what happened. I just find it better to ignore it, you know? For instance my name is Thomas and I just fell from the skies," Ulysses said causing Daphne to chuckle and he smiled at her.

Ulysses talked to Daphne more and more until it was around dinner time and Daphne became busy and Ulysses decided just to go up to his room for a while and relax. He knew what he was looking for wasn't here either, he knew it couldn't possibly be in Daphne, she was a sweet young woman but she was just a distraction to him. He knew he shouldn't treat her like that, slowly pulling her in until he had her but he needed something, anything to make him feel the least bit alive; he needed a woman's comfort. He was feeling great with being free but still whatever was calling to him, whatever he was missing was still out there and until he found it he couldn't be whole. He laid there for a while and thought to himself then decided to go downstairs and get a table before it got too crowded; Ulysses looked around the Inn thinking to himself that he came down at the perfect time. "I saved your table in the back," Daphne said as she walked passed him with a tray, "thanks," Ulysses said and she nodded.

He walked over to the table and sat down and relaxed, Virgil walking in twenty minutes later. "So what were you up to?" Ulysses asked and Virgil told him; Daphne brought over their drinks and then a while later their food was brought to them. "So I see you made some progress," Virgil said as he looked at Daphne and Ulysses nodded, "yea but I'm not sure if I'll go through with it." He said and Virgil looked at his friend and shook his head, "we really need to find whatever it is you're looking for because honestly man you just look so," Virgil said then shook his head and Ulysses let out a breath and nodded.

"You're telling me," he said and they spent the rest of their evening eating their dinner and talking; Ulysses grinned at Daphne as she sat their desert on the table, "on the house," she said and he smiled at her. Towards the end of the evening Virgil found himself a young woman who would entertain him and Ulysses just let out a breath as he headed upstairs to his room. He let out a breath as he prepared to take a bath that had been sent up earlier when he asked for it; when he was finished his bath he put on a clean pair of pants and sent for someone to come and get the tub.

When the tub was gone he was preparing to lay down when there was a knock at his door; he opened it to see Daphne standing there. "Daphne," Ulysses said and she grinned at him, "hi," she said her eyes running over his chest and he looked at her. "Is there something I can help you with?" Ulysses asked and she looked at him, "may I come in?" She asked and he looked at her for a moment then nodded and let her into the room against his better judgment. He closed the door behind her then turned and looked at her as she looked around the room, "is everything alright Daphne?" Ulysses asked and she turned and looked at him, "um…I," she said and Ulysses walked up to her and she started to stumble more so he placed his finger on her lips and she looked up into his eyes. "Take a deep breath then take your time and just tell me what's on your mind," he said and she followed his directions then looked into his eyes as she spoke to him. "I want you," she said and his eyes opened wide in surprise as he nodded, "okay you're direct."

He said then gave her a small smile and she grinned at him, "Daphne I…" he started to say but she stopped him. "I'm not a fool Thomas and I'm not as innocent as I may seem. I know you're just passing through and you have no intentions of staying, I'm going to even take a guess and say Thomas is not even your real name." She said and he looked at her, "what do you want Daphne?" He asked her and she looked at him as she walked up closer to him, placing her hands on his arms. "What you want. I know you want me I see a need in your eyes for comfort, the comfort only a woman can give you and I don't know why you chose me out of all the other beautiful girls in this town but I'm glad you did. As I said before I'm not dumb, I know all you want is to sleep with me, find comfort and release and leave in the morning. I know that and to be honest that's all I want from you," she said then looked over his body as she stepped closer and Ulysses brought his hand up to the back of her neck. "Are you sure Daphne, you're a nice woman and I don't want to hurt you," he said and she looked into his eyes and nodded.

"I'm sure," she said then leaned forward and kissed him softly, "and don't worry I've taken the necessary precautions so that I won't get pregnant." She said and Ulysses nodded then kissed her deeply and she moaned as she wrapped her arms around him. His hands went to the back of her dress where he undid the knot at the top that was pulled to keep all the eyelets closed. He stepped closer to her and deepened the kiss more as he began to pull the dress down her shoulders; the kiss finally ended and Daphne was breathless and she closed her eyes and moaned as Ulysses began kissing and sucking on her neck as she ran her hands over his back. They stood there for a while, the dress was now on the floor and Ulysses held Daphne tight against him as he explored her body with his hands and lips. He wanted more excess to her body and her legs were beginning to shake so he picked her up into his strong arms and carried her over to the bed, where he gave Daphne the best sex she would most likely ever have in her entire life.

Ulysses kissed Daphne passionately as he thrust at a medium pace in and out of her and he swallowed her moans of pleasure. Ulysses saw that Daphne was right, she wasn't the innocent she seemed to be and he found that out as they rolled passionately around on the bed getting tangled in the sheets. Daphne finally made it on top and she looked down at Ulysses as they continued to move; they were both breathing hard and he looked at her and she grinned as she leaned down and kissed him passionately getting a moan from him.

He let her stay on top for about ten minutes and then he rolled her back onto her back and was thrusting deeply into her, his head buried in her neck and she moaned as she ran her hand over his back and the other gripped his hair. Twenty five minutes later, Ulysses sweaty and breathing hard lay on his back trying to catch his breath and Daphne lay next to him in the same condition. "Wow you were incredible," she said and Ulysses nodded, "thanks you were great too," he said and they lay that way for a bit until Daphne moved into Ulysses' arms and he caressed her hair then placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you Daphne," he said and she raised her head and looked at him, "for what?" She asked and he looked into her eyes, "for giving me what I needed." He said and she nodded then brought her hand up to his face and ran her finger close by the corner of his eye. "I see such loneliness in your eyes, such emptiness even when you smile it's still there," she said and he looked at her then looked away towards the window. "We can't all be happy," he said and she shook her head, "I don't believe that and neither do you," she said and he looked at her. "That's why you left your home, changed your name. You're looking for a new life, a better life, a happier life." She said and he looked at her, "very impressive Daphne," he said and she grinned at him. "So, tell me your real name," she said and Ulysses looked at her and shook his head. "No, it's for your protection more than it is for mine. If someone were to find out you knew who I was," he said and let the rest hang in the air and she looked at him and nodded then laid her head back down on his chest.

They lay there in silence for a while then talked some before they went another round and just fell asleep. When morning came the sun shinned through the window waking Ulysses up and he ran his hand over his face then sat up when he didn't feel a body in the bed with him. "Well that's a change," he said then sat up and made sure important things weren't missing like his money and when he found that they weren't, he called for another bath, took it then got dressed and grabbed his bags and headed downstairs. He saw Virgil sitting at the table eating breakfast so he walked over and sat down and Virgil grinned as he continued to eat, "so you decided to go through with it," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him then grinned. He was about to say something when Daphne walked over with his breakfast in her hands, "good morning," she said with a smile and he smiled back at her. "Good morning to you too," he said and she sat his plate down and turned to leave but he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him and she smiled at him.

"You were very quiet this morning," he said and she grinned at him as she caressed his cheek, "you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you. I thought I wore you out last night," she said with a grin then pulled free from his grasp and walked away. Ulysses chuckled as he shook his head, "so I guess I was wrong about the virgin thing?" Virgil asked and Ulysses smiled and nodded, "oh yea and I was wrong about her being shy," he said and Virgil grinned as he shook his head. Ulysses looked over at Daphne watching her talk and smile and he grinned to himself. "Hey Virgil, do you mind if we spend a couple of days here?" Ulysses asked and Virgil grinned at him, "can't get enough can you?" He asked then smiled as he clapped Ulysses on the back, "I knew you were in there somewhere," he said and Ulysses laughed at him. "Actually I was going to ask you the same thing. You see, I had my own wonderful night last night," Virgil said and his eyes traveled to the red head waitress who winked at him and he smiled as he turned back and looked at Ulysses who was chuckling at him.

"Daphne," Ulysses called and she turned and looked at him and he waved her over so she walked over to him, "yea," she said and Ulysses looked at her then took her hand in his as she looked at her. "We'll be staying for a couple of more days," he said and she grinned at him. "Will I be able to enjoy your company?" He asked and she grinned as she sat down on his lap and he wrapped his arm around her as she placed her arm around his shoulder. "I suppose I can make time for you in my busy schedule," she said and he smiled and nodded then turned her face towards him. "I promise I'll make it worth your while," he said and she grinned at him as she brought her fingers up to his lips. "Oh I know you will," she said with a grin and he grinned then closed his eyes as he kissed her. When the kiss ended she looked at him, "I have to get back to work," she said and he nodded and watched as she stood and walked away. Ulysses grinned then continued eating his breakfast and clowning with Virgil.

**Ithaca…**

Two weeks had passed since Ulysses left and though Marguerite said Ulysses would be back and felt it, she still worried about him. She, Camilla and Julian were having lunch in the dinning hall when Victoria approached them. "My lord, my lady," she said as she bowed her head to them both. "Victoria how are you?" Julian asked, "well my lord…" she said then was silent for a minute. "I miss him," she said lowly and Marguerite placed her hand on Victoria's arm, "we all do but he will be back." She said and Victoria looked at her and tears came to her eyes as she shook her head, "no he won't," she said in a whisper and they looked at him.

"Victoria is there something you know that we don't?" Julian asked and she looked at him then wiped her face, "forgive me my lord, my lady," she said as she turned and looked at Marguerite. "I saw Ulysses the night he left, I went to see about him after what happened here, I was worried about him. When I walked in his bags were sitting on the bed and I knew, I knew he was leaving." She said then let out a breath as she looked at the letter Ulysses gave her, "he wrote this for you my lady, I wanted to give it to you sooner, especially when I saw how worried you were about him but he made me promise before he left that I wait two weeks after he was gone before I gave you his letter."

Victoria said and Marguerite looked at the letter then took it from Victoria's hands, "I'm truly sorry," she said then walked away before she practically ran out of the hall. Marguerite looked at the letter that was sealed closed and she let out a breath as she broke the seal and began reading her son's letter to her.

Hi Momma,

If you're reading this, I've left Ithaca and if you're reading this, it's been two weeks or more since I've left. I know you and dad don't understand why I'm doing this but I had to; I had to do it for me. You, father and Camilla could never understand and maybe I wasn't explaining it clearly but I was dying here momma. I tried, I tried my best to do what you and father asked of me but every day that went by, I was slowly dying inside, I felt like someone was slowly squeezing the life out of me. I want to make sure you understand that my reason for leaving was nothing that you, Camilla or even my father did, it was simply just time for me to leave, to go and find what I've been missing in my life, what's been calling to my heart, my soul, for I fear if I never find it I will remain feeling incomplete, empty and alone. I'm sorry that you have to find things out this way but I knew that if you and father, especially father knew I had plans of leaving, you would find any way to stop me. I'm also sorry to tell you that I don't mean to come back to Ithaca. Maybe one day if I've found what I'm looking for I'll let you know where I am and that I'm okay but I don't think my place is in Ithaca and I know I've disappointed father. I couldn't stand to see the shame in his eyes when he looked at me, for saying the things I said, for feeling the way I felt and for leaving you guys like I have. Please let him know that I didn't mean any of those things, that I was just upset and well…I'm sorry. I love you momma and tell Camilla that I love her and will miss her, especially her nagging and arguing with her. Tell father that I love him too and that my family, Ithaca, will always be in my heart. I know it may seem like I have abandoned you but I haven't, if ever you need me just send word and don't worry I'll get the message. Please don't worry momma, even though I know that's what you do, but I promise you I'll be fine. I will miss you all very much but I beg of you, be happy for me and pray for me, ask the gods to help me find what it is I'm looking for. I wish you and Ithaca all the best. I wish for my family to be happy like I know you'll wish it for me.

With all my love,

Ulysses

Tears ran down Marguerite's face as she read the letter and when she was done she shook head, "what did he say Marguerite?" Julian asked and she looked at her husband, "he isn't coming back," she said and he looked into her eyes before he took the letter from her and read it for himself and his heart sank like his body did in the chair. Marguerite stood up and rushed out of the hall upset. Julian rushed after his distraught wife leaving the letter on the table and Camilla picked it up and read it tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "Oh Ulysses," she said then stood with her brother's letter in her hand and went to her room with it.

**On the road to Amphipolis…**

It had been three days since Ulysses and Virgil left Daphne's village and they had gotten another ride to another village which wasn't very impressive so they stayed the night then headed out. They took their time walking, talking and joking with each other. One day they stopped some road bandits from robbing a family that was passing by; they could have beaten those thugs with one arm tied behind their backs and that was basically what they did. "Thank you, I owe you my life," the man said and Ulysses grinned at him. "Its fine and you don't owe us any thing. What's your name?" Ulysses asked and the man looked at him, "my name is Archie and this is my wife Maggie," he said waving her over.

"And these are our sons Samuel and David." Archie finished and Ulysses grinned at them all, "it's nice to meet you. My name is Thomas and this is my friend Andrew," Ulysses said and Archie shook their hand and Virgil looked at them. "So where are you guys headed?" Virgil asked, "Amphipolis. We come from the city of Boeotia but there's so much violence there and I didn't want my sons to grow up around that so we're moving to Amphipolis which is a pretty peaceful town. My oldest son Brendan and his wife live there and we're going to stay with him until we can build ourselves a house, well first we have to get the money but it'll all be worked out."

Archie said and Virgil nodded then looked at Ulysses, "can I speak with you for a moment?" He asked and Ulysses nodded then looked at Archie, "excuse us," he said then walked over a few feet. "What's up?" Ulysses asked and Virgil looked at him, "I think we should take them the rest of the way to Amphipolis, these roads can be pretty dangerous." Virgil said and Ulysses hunched his shoulders and nodded. "That's fine with me, it's not like we have any real destination in mind," Ulysses said and then he and Virgil walked back over to Archie and his family. "If it's alright with you and your family Archie, we would like to take you the rest of the way to Amphipolis, these roads can be pretty dangerous." Ulysses said and Archie's eyes opened wide as he looked at them then at his wife who was nodding her head. "That would be great but we wouldn't be taking you from anything that you have to do?" Archie asked and Ulysses and Virgil both shook their heads, "no, we weren't doing much believe me." Virgil said and Archie grinned at them. "Thank you very much," he said and Ulysses and Virgil nodded.

"If you don't mind Archie, I'll pull the wagon, give you a little break," Ulysses said and Archie grinned at him, "that's okay you don't have to do that, I'm kind of used to it now." Archie said and Ulysses shook his head as he placed his bags in the wagon where he could keep a close eye on them. "Don't worry about it, I need the exercise," Ulysses said as he walked over to the two beams and picked them up. "Okay is everybody ready?" Ulysses asked and they nodded so they began moving with Ulysses pulling the wagon and Archie staying to talk with him, while Virgil kept an eye on things to make sure no one popped out at them. "Archie how far is Amphipolis?" Ulysses asked, "I'd say about a week from here, would be faster if we had a horse." He said and Ulysses nodded and continued to talk to the man who he found was very intelligent and was good company. Just before night fell they found a place to camp that wasn't really that secluded but they weren't out in the open. Virgil had caught them some fish to eat out of a nearby stream where they all washed up at, especially Ulysses since he was covered in sweat from pulling the wagon.

Maggie prepared and cooked the fish while Archie entertained his sons with a story and Ulysses grinned as he listened while sharpening his sword and Virgil just leaned back against a rock and relaxed. Five minutes passed and then Ulysses looked to the side of him where one of Archie's sons was watching him. "Why you do that?" The boy asked and he must have been about six years old and Ulysses grinned at him. "So that my blade stays sharp," he said and the boy looked at Ulysses as if he were deciding if it were safe to walk over and he must have decided it was because he walked closer to Ulysses who looked at him. "I'm David," he said and Ulysses grinned at him, "is that a sling shot David?" Ulysses asked and David grinned and nodded as he raised his hand with the sling shot in it. "Yea my daddy made it for me but I don't know how to use it." He said and Ulysses looked at him, "well we're just gonna have to do something about that," Ulysses said as he sheathed his sword.

"Now let's see," Ulysses said as he stooped down behind the boy and pulled David's arms up showing him how to hold the sling shot. "Keep your arms just like this," Ulysses said and David nodded enthusiastically as he learned how to use his most prized possession. "We're gonna try to hit that tree over there," Ulysses said and David nodded, "now pull this back like this," Ulysses said then maneuvered David's arm some. "You don't want to pull it back in front of your face, you know why?" Ulysses asked and David shook his head and looked at Ulysses, "well for one you're learning and it may pop back in into your face and we don't want that." Ulysses said with a grin and David grinned and shook his head, "and second, if you hold it in front your face you can't see," Ulysses said. "Okay so you're holding it like this and then you pull back," Ulysses said, his hand on David's helping him guide his aim. "And then if you're nervous like me you let out a breath," Ulysses said and David looked at him.

"Gets rid of all those butterflies moving around in your stomach," Ulysses said as he tickled David's stomach causing him to giggle and laugh and Ulysses smiled. "Now look at your target, the tree," Ulysses said and David followed Ulysses' instructions. "Now, let it go!" Ulysses said and they let the band go and watched the rock fly into the tree and David smiled with surprise and happiness in his face. "Papa, Papa did you see?" David asked as he jumped up and down with a huge smile on his face as he pointed to the tree and Archie smiled at his son. "I did indeed, good job David," Archie said and David smiled as he turned and looked at Ulysses. "Do it again?" David asked and Ulysses grinned as he showed him how to do it again and again until the fish was ready to eat. "Time for dinner I'll show you more tomorrow," Ulysses said and David nodded then hugged Ulysses, "thank you," he said and Ulysses grinned as he hugged him back. "You're welcome, now go eat," he said and David nodded and ran over to his mother and Ulysses grinned as her heard David, "momma did you see me?"

Ulysses was happy that he could make someone happy even if it was a six year old. They ate dinner and they all went to bed but Ulysses lay awake and looked up at the stars and just laid there wondering. They days went by pretty good and day by day they were getting closer and closer to Amphipolis. Yes things were going pretty smoothly until they ran into more bandits and these were more in number and knew a couple of things. Ulysses and Virgil fought them off while telling the others to hide; David thought he could help with his sling shot and he actually wound up hitting one of the guys in the butt but of course that turned the bandit's attention to David and he started running. "David! David!" Maggie cried and Ulysses turned his head and saw David running so he finished off the guy that was in front of him then went after David. David decided to hide in an old log that lay half on the river bank and half in the water and the bandit looked for him but couldn't find him. Ulysses came and then the bandit had other things to worry about and in the end he wound up running away like the other's had decided.

Virgil, Archie, Maggie and their other son Samuel who was about three came running over. "Where is he?" Maggie asked and Ulysses shook his head as he looked around. "David," Ulysses yelled, "I'm here momma," David said as he began crawling his way out of the log and Maggie let out a breath when she saw her son was safe. "My leg's stuck," David said as he tried to get the rest of the way out and with all the moving he was doing with trying to get his leg free, he shook the trunk from its steady spot and it fell into the water, pulling David with it. "Oh gods," Maggie cried and everyone ran over to the river, "in the bag with the food there's rope," Ulysses told Virgil and before Virgil could say anything Ulysses dove into the water after David and Archie walked into the water to see if he could help as well. "Help, papa help," David cried as his head surfaced, "I'm coming son," Archie said. "No you stay here the water's getting to rough ahead," Ulysses yelled as he swam as fast as he could towards David whose head went back under the water.

Virgil ran back for the robe then ran back to the river where he saw Ulysses down stream so that's where he ran. "Hang on David," Ulysses yelled as he saw the boy resurface and he was spitting water out and was trying to keep himself afloat. "Ulysses," David cried, "hold on buddy I'm coming," Ulysses said as he fought the water and then David went under water again. Ulysses dove in under the water after him and he saw David with his foot still stuck in the log. When he got to him he held David then kicked at the log breaking it enough that when he hit it a couple of times with his hand, it freed David's foot. Ulysses kicked his way up and when his head hit the surface he took in air fulls then looked down at David who was unconscious; Ulysses hit David's chest twice and then he began spitting up water and breathing. "Catch," Virgil yelled as he threw the rope and Ulysses caught it he was putting it around David when something swept by him and knocked him down which wasn't that hard giving that the water was rough.

Ulysses went under water but he managed to tighten the rope around David and tug at it telling Virgil to pull, which he did. Virgil pulled David as fast as he could to the bank and they pulled him out. "He should be fine," Virgil said as David coughed up a little more water and they wrapped him in a blanket. Virgil looked up for Ulysses but didn't see him. "Thomas," he yelled and he stood and ran over to the bank, "Thomas," he yelled again then shook his head as he continued to look. "Ulysses," Virgil yelled and he looked frantically until he saw Ulysses pop his head up while trying to fight the water. "Ulysses," Virgil yelled as he ran down to where his friend was, "hang on," he said and Archie ran over with the rope and Ulysses tried to keep himself up by holding on to a branch. Virgil hurried as he tried to get the rope together and just as he was preparing to throw it the branch broke and Ulysses began moving down stream where the water was getting rougher and rougher, making it harder and harder for Ulysses to stay up top.

Virgil ran, following Ulysses and his heart jumped into his chest when he saw there was a waterfall ahead, "Ulysses," Virgil called but Ulysses went under the water and Virgil frantically called for him and he didn't see Ulysses again until he was inches from going over the waterfall. "No!" Virgil yelled as he watched his friend go over the edge and he shook his head then ran back towards the others. "We have to go," Virgil said and Archie looked at him, "but…but he went over," Archie said and Virgil looked at him. "So, that doesn't mean he isn't alive," Virgil said and Archie looked at him. "But…" Archie started saying and Virgil looked at him, "look he is my best friend and he's not dead until I see a dead body. He saved your life, the life of your family, the life of your son," Virgil said as he nodded over to David who was wrapped up in a blanket while being held in his mother's arms. "Now will you help me save his life?" Virgil asked and Archie looked into his eyes and nodded, "alright let's go," Virgil said as he grabbed the wagon and began pulling.

Virgil was walking fast even as he pulled the heavy wagon and when they were a good ways from where they were attacked he found a safe spot for Maggie to wait with her sons while they went to look for Ulysses. Ulysses twist and turned in the water and no matter how hard he fought, he couldn't make his way up, the water had to much control; it felt almost as if it were about to literally crush him. Then suddenly he felt a warm glow surround him and he felt the strength in him renew a hundred fold so he began fighting the water more and more, until his head was above the water and he was pulling in great big lung fulls of air. As soon as he was away from the danger of the waterfall, that warm feeling left him, that golden glow that surrounded him dissipated and he began to make his way towards the river bank. When they left Maggie, Virgil and Archie ran trying to find a way to the waterfall. They made it to a cliff where you could see the river from the waterfall and Virgil looked frantically for his friend and he let out a great breath of relief when he saw Ulysses walking out of the water. "Ulysses," Virgil called and Ulysses looked up and grinned at his friend, "hey Virgil, you want to come give me a hand," Ulysses yelled and Virgil grinned.

"I'll be down in a couple of minutes," he yelled and Ulysses nodded, "I'll be waiting," he said as he continued to walk out of the water then sat down on the ground. "Amazing," Archie said as he and Virgil found a way down the cliff they were on, though it wasn't that easy. When they finally made their way down, Virgil ran over to where Ulysses had been and Ulysses turned his head as he heard the foot steps. He grinned as he stood and when Virgil was close to him he hugged his friend tightly and Ulysses hugged him back. "You should be dead," Virgil said as he pulled back and looked at Ulysses seeing only the marks on his hand from when he hit the log that was holding David's leg. "You're telling me," Ulysses said as he looked from the height from which he fell. "How's David?" Ulysses asked as he looked at Archie who grinned at him, "he will be alright, thank you for saving him," Archie said and he and Ulysses shook hand. "It was no problem," Ulysses said then let out a breath, "I need to get out of these wet clothes," he said and Virgil nodded.

"Yea we made camp a ways back," Virgil said and Ulysses let out a breath and nodded and they made the trek back up the mountain and walked to site where they left Maggie. When they got to there, Ulysses was grateful to see that she had a fire going; he grabbed his bag with his clothes in it and changed his clothes letting the others hang to dry on a tree branch. When he was done, he sat close to the fire with a blanket around his shoulders trying to keep himself warm so that he wouldn't get sick. He sat there staring into the fire as he thought about what happened to him when he went over the waterfall. "Ulysses," a voice called, pulling him out of his thoughts and Maggie looked at him, "that is your name isn't it?" She asked and he nodded, "I brought you some broth," she said and he took the bowl of steaming broth from her. "Thank you," he said, "no thank you," she said then got down on her knees in front of him. "The gods must have sent you and your friend because they knew we needed you," she said and he looked into her eyes then down at the bowl.

"I care not what you're name is, you saved my son, I will forever be in your debt," she said and he looked into her eyes then let out a breath. "I'm sorry we lied to you; I'm just trying to escape my past and there will be people looking for us so we sort of changed our names." Ulysses said and Maggie nodded, "we understand, believe me and we promise to keep your secret." She said and Ulysses nodded then watched her walk away; he let out a breath and began sipping on the broth that tasted wonderful and felt good going down. The next few days were slow since Ulysses was sort of getting his strength back and David needed to rest as well, they took it slow just to make sure they stayed healthy. On the third day, David was back to running around and Ulysses was back to pulling the wagon with his shirt off since the days were getting hotter and hotter which meant more sweating for Ulysses; Virgil and Archie having shared the responsibility the days before. In three more days, they finally reached Amphipolis and all the young women eyed Ulysses as he continued to pull the cart through town. "Looks like you're fresh meat," Virgil said as he slapped Ulysses on the shoulder and Ulysses grinned as he shook his head at his friend.

"Well why don't you take your shirt of and pull the wagon," Ulysses said and Virgil grinned at him, "thanks but I'm fine as is," Virgil said and Ulysses rolled his eyes at his friend. "Father," Ulysses heard someone cry and he turned his head to see Archie hug his eldest son. "Brendan its good to see you," Archie said. "We were worried, you and mother should have been here days ago," Brendan said and Archie nodded. "Yea but unfortunately we had some trouble with bandits, luckily Thomas and his friend Andrew were there to save us," Archie said as he turned and introduced his son to Ulysses who shook his hand. "Thanks I owe you a lot," Brendan said and Ulysses shook his head, "you guys owe us nothing, we were just happy we could help." Ulysses said and Brendan nodded, "well I have a horse I can hitch that to father and I'll take you guys to the farm," Brendan said and Archie nodded. Ulysses lowered the beams to the wagon then grabbed his shirt and put it on. "We'll be seeing you Archie," Virgil said as he walked up to the man and grasped his arm and Archie looked at him.

"You guys are leaving?" Archie asked and Virgil turned and looked at Ulysses, "we'll probably hang around for a day or two then head out." Ulysses said and Archie nodded, "well don't be a stranger," he said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "We won't," he said then grasped arms with the man before he grabbed his bags out of the wagon and he and Virgil headed to find the Inn. "Hey this isn't a bad place," Virgil said as he looked around and Ulysses shook his head as he looked around the town as well. "No it isn't," he said then looked ahead. "I think that's the Inn up there," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. They were walking towards the Inn through the somewhat crowded street and Ulysses was making his way through when he ran into someone. "Sorry," he said as he turned and looked at who he ran into, his eyes met up with the bluest eyes he had ever seen. "I should've watched where I was going," Ulysses said and those blue eyes looked back at him, a smile coming to them. "It's kind of hard when the streets are crowded like this," she said and he nodded as he looked at her and she looked at him.

"Hey Xena," a voice called and she turned her head and looked towards a vendor where her brother was then looked back at the stranger. "Gotta go, it was nice meeting you," she said with a smile then walked away before Ulysses could say anything. "It was nice meeting you too," Ulysses said more to himself than to Xena. "Hey Thomas," Virgil called but Ulysses' eyes were on the woman who walked away from him. "Hey," Virgil said as he pushed Ulysses on his shoulder snapping him out of his trance and Ulysses turned and looked at Virgil. "What?" He asked and Virgil looked at him, "I've been calling you for the last minute. What's up with you?" Virgil asked and Ulysses shook his head then looked around for Xena but she was gone, "I think I saw a goddess," he said and Virgil rolled his eyes as he grabbed his friend's arm. "I think you need to lay down, this pass week has been too much excitement for you," Virgil said as he pulled Ulysses while they walked towards the Inn. "I'm telling you man it was a goddess, I think it was Artemis or…or maybe Athena but then again she was so beautiful she could've been Aphrodite."

Ulysses said and Virgil rolled his eyes as he grinned at his friend while they walked into the Inn. "Why don't you get us a table and I'll get us some rooms," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded and headed to find them a table while Virgil got them some rooms. "How much for two rooms?" He asked and Cyrene looked at him, "ten dinars will get you two regular size rooms, including three meals a day and the use of the bathing room. Twenty dinars will get you the same except the rooms will be bigger," she said and Virgil nodded, "I'll take two of the bigger rooms," he said then thought about it and knew Ulysses wouldn't like it. "On second thought, I'll just take the regular size rooms," Virgil said as he placed the money in Cyrene's hands and Cyrene nodded. "Well my name is Cyrene, this is my Inn and I don't tolerate the use of weapons or any roughness of any kind." She said and he nodded, "yes ma'am, we'll be on our best behavior," Virgil said and Cyrene looked at him and nodded. "Here are your keys; the rooms are on the second floor, left side the two at the end."

Cyrene said and Virgil nodded, "thanks," he said and she nodded. "You're food will be out as soon as possible," she said and Virgil nodded then left and headed over to the table where Ulysses was sitting. "Here's your key," he said as he handed it to Ulysses who took it but his mind was still obsessing over Xena. "You're not still thinking about your goddess are you?" Virgil asked and Ulysses looked at him, "I know you don't believe me," Ulysses said and Virgil let out a breath as he looked at Ulysses. "Look the last couple of days or better yet month has been stressful, maybe you just need to get some rest and relax some." Virgil said and Ulysses let out a breath and nodded, "yea maybe you're…" he started saying but stopped as his eyes went to the door. "What?" Virgil asked and Ulysses just stared so Virgil turned and looked at what Ulysses called his goddess and Virgil grinned as he turned back and looked at Ulysses. "Let me guess, that's your goddess," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded as he ran his eyes over Xena's body.

She wore a black leather skirt that came down to her knees and a blue sleeveless shirt that came down just to the top of the skirt. Starting from her feet, Ulysses ran his eyes over Xena's body, scrutinizing every inch of her. Her legs were long and slender but not too slender and they looked smooth to the touch. His eyes continued going up to her obviously flat stomach and perfect breasts. His eyes went to her face and it was gorgeous; she had high cheek bones, a smooth, milky complexion and those eyes.

She had the most beautiful eyes Ulysses had ever seen, so blue you could fall into them, it was like looking into the depths of the ocean; her hair was as black as a midnight sky and it shined with its silkiness. Oh she was beautiful, she was gorgeous, in his eyes she was the perfect woman. Xena's eyes connected with Ulysses' again and they both felt a pull but that pull was interrupted when Cyrene grabbed her daughter's arm and dragged her into the kitchen. "Where have you been?" Cyrene asked her daughter and Xena was about to answer when Cyrene shook her head, "no matter, I need you to take these drinks over to the men in the corner and see if there's anything else they need."

Cyrene said and Xena nodded as she grabbed the tray and walked out of the kitchen, "did you see her? Did you?" Ulysses asked and Virgil grinned and nodded, "yea I saw her and she is undeniably beautiful but I doubt she's a goddess." Virgil said as he chuckled at his friend and Ulysses was about to reply when Xena walked up to them. "Here are your drinks," she said as she placed them on the table and Ulysses looked at her, "is there anything else I can get you?" She asked as she looked at Ulysses, "What's your name?" He asked and she grinned at him, "You want me to get you my name?"

She asked and Ulysses grinned as he shook his head then looked down. "I'm sorry, no we don't need anything else, but I wanted to know your name," he said after a second and she looked at him and nodded. "Xena," she said and Ulysses grinned as he nodded, "Xena. A pretty name for an extremely beautiful woman," he said and she grinned at him. "I'm sorry am I being to straight forward?" Ulysses asked and she shook her head as she looked at him, "no, but I'll let you know when you are." She said and Ulysses nodded, "so, now that you know my name what's yours?"

Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, "Ulysses, my name is Ulysses," he said and Virgil looked at him with surprise in his eyes and Ulysses just looked at Xena who looked back at him. "It's an alright name for a man such as yourself," she said and Ulysses grinned at her. "Your food will be out soon," she said then turned and walked away and Ulysses watched her. "Ulysses," Virgil called, "what?" He asked as he looked at his friend, "what happened to Thomas?" He asked and Ulysses shook his head, "I don't know, I just…I couldn't lie to her." Ulysses said and Virgil rolled his eyes as he picked up his drink and took a small gulp. _'Who is this woman and what is she doing to me?'_ Ulysses asked himself as he watched Xena walk into the kitchen. "What's wrong with you?" Cyrene asked her daughter, looking at the grin and dazed expression on her face. "Nothing," she said and Cyrene shook her head, "I swear Xena, sometimes you have your head in the clouds," Cyrene said and Xena just hunched her shoulders.

Ten minutes passed and Ulysses' and Virgil's food was ready but Xena was busy helping her mother cook for dinner so the other waitress Cynthia took it out to them. Ulysses of course was disappointed but all through his meal he continued to look towards the door Xena went through to see if she could come back out. It looked like to Ulysses that they had came just before the dinner rush, still Ulysses kept his eye on the door. Finally ten minutes later Xena came out from the kitchen to tend the bar and Ulysses watched her; he watched as she talked, smiled and handled things. Ulysses watched as two men walked over to the bar, one with hair as dark as Xena's and the other had blonde hair. She turned around and grinned at them and Ulysses watched as she reached out to the blond one and seemingly caressed his cheek when in reality all she was doing was wiping some dirt off of his face.

"I swear Lyceus you can never keep your face clean," Xena said and he hunched his shoulders, "what'd you expect Xena I've been playing with dirt all day." He said and she just rolled her eyes at them, "you two go get cleaned up for dinner," Cyrene said as she walked out of the kitchen and they nodded as they went into the kitchen and down to their rooms. "I wish you would go over and talk to her and stop staring," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him. "I don't know," Ulysses said, "Ulysses come on now, you've never been hesitant about talking to a woman," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded. "I know but there's something about her that just…I don't know," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "All the more reason for you to go and talk to her," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded. "Maybe you're right," he said then took a deep gulp of his drink before he stood, straightened his clothes and walked over to the bar. He let out a breath as he sat down on the stool and when she turned around she was looking directly at him.

She poured the guy two stools down from Ulysses a drink then looked at him, "so what can I get you?" She asked and he looked at her, "um…um I," he said and Xena grinned at him. Ulysses realized he wasn't really making any sense so he closed his eyes and let out a calming breath then opened his eyes and looked at Xena. "I just want to talk to you," he said and she looked at him. "About?" She asked and he shook his head as he hunched his shoulders, "who you are, what you do, what you like to do, things like that," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "And why would you want to know all of that?" She asked as she placed the pitcher on the counter then leaned forward clasping her hands together. "Well I would like to get to know you," he said and she looked at him. "And why would you want to do that?" She asked and he just looked into her eyes, "I think you're a beautiful, intelligent woman and I just want to get to know you, perhaps see if we have anything in common." He said and she nodded, "and then you would like to sleep with me."

She stated, "No, no, no, no," Ulysses said as he shook his head and Xena smiled at him. "I know men like you Ulysses. You go to villages pretending to be this sweet honorable man, sweet talk the simple village girls and before they know what happens, you've got them in bed." Xena said then smile gone from her face and Ulysses shook his head, "no," he said, "no," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her. "Look Xena I will admit I've done that once or twice before but I swear that's not what I'm trying to do here." He said and she nodded, "really? And why should I believe you?" She asked and he swallowed hard as he looked into her eyes, "because I can't seem to lie to you," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes and saw no trace of a lie there. "We'll see," she said and Ulysses looked at her as she headed back into the kitchen and he let out a breath. _'Whoa. She is definitely something'_ Ulysses thought to himself then turned his head as the door banged open and a group of rough, gang men walked into the Inn.

"Who's in charge here?" The leader asked, "This is my Inn," Cyrene said as she walked out of the kitchen and the man looked at her. "Good, then it's you I should be talking to. We are here to offer you our services," he said as he walked up to Cyrene and she held her ground as she looked at him without fear in her eyes. "And what services would those be?" Cyrene asked, "Protection services, we wouldn't want this nice Inn to fall prey to some thugs." He said and she nodded, "well thank you for the offer but I'm not interested," she said and he grinned as he looked at her.

"I don't think you understand, we're not giving you a choice," he said and then one of his men smashed a table and Cyrene just looked at him. "What? I'm supposed to be scared of some common low life thug?" Cyrene asked and the smile fell from his face; he was getting ready to hit her when his hand was stopped and he looked into Xena's now dark blue eyes that held fury. "Keep your hands to yourself," she said then began squeezing his fist, "otherwise it might get broken," she said as she continued to squeeze pain showing up on his face and Ulysses watched the whole thing with amazement.

"Get her," the man yelled and Xena grinned as she let his fist go then did a roundhouse kick knocking him out on the floor. They all started going for her but Ulysses wasn't about to let that happen, "now fellas that isn't fair. All of you against her," he said then grinned, "half for her half for me," he said as he waved them over. Xena looked at him and he winked at her before they began fighting, it took them all of about five minutes to dispatch the ten guys and when they were all on the floor moaning and groaning in pain, Virgil came over and helped Ulysses toss the guys outside. "Don't return here, if you do you'll get worse," Ulysses said as he picked the leader up and looked at him then kneed him in the groin before he tossed him out with his crew. Conversation in the Inn slowly began to start again and Ulysses looked around at the mess that was made, "sorry about this," Ulysses said as he picked up the table but it fell back over.

"It's quite alright, you saved my Inn from far worse," Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded, "I can fix this if you like," Ulysses said referring to all that was broken and Cyrene looked at him. "What would be your price?" She asked and he looked at her then over at Xena who looked at him, "dinner with you beautiful daughter," he said and Cyrene turned her head and looked at Xena who had turned her head but was grinning and Cyrene grinned as she looked back at Ulysses. "Well my daughter is her own woman so you'll have to ask her that but I would still pay you for fixing the damage." Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded then looked at Xena, "how about it Xena, will you have dinner with me? I still want to get to know you and I promise I'll be the perfect gentleman," he said and she looked at him, "you're definitely not from around here." She said then looked into his eyes as she felt herself being pulled in to them so she turned her head and nodded. "Sure," she said and he grinned at her, "great then I'll see you tomorrow evening for dinner."

He said and she nodded then looked at him before she headed back into the kitchen and he grinned then looked at Cyrene who was behind the bar grinning to herself. "I'll fix all of this for you in the morning Cyrene but I was wondering," he said and she looked at him. "Yes?" She asked, "I'm guessing the two men that came in earlier were your sons, one with dark hair like Xena's and the other with blond hair." Ulysses said and Cyrene nodded, "yea, in addition to this Inn I also have fields, Toris and Lyceus tend to those fields," Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded.

"Well I was wondering, could you use two strong young men around your Inn? My friend Virgil and I could do a lot of the heavy stuff, I'm good with fixing things and as you've also seen, I could protect this place." He said and she nodded, "true but I don't have the money to pay you both." She said and Ulysses nodded, "of course, all I would ask is that you let us keep our rooms and eat, that's all," Ulysses said and Cyrene grinned at him as she wiped a glass with a towel. "No, that isn't all is it?" She asked him and he looked at her trying to hide his intentions but he was failing and Cyrene chuckled at him.

"I'll take you up on your offer but I know for a fact what you're trying to do won't be an easy task," Cyrene said then picked up a tray with cups and mugs on it then walked through the kitchen door with it. Ulysses smiled then walked back over to his table where he sat down and looked at Virgil who was looking at the big grin on Ulysses' face. "What did you do?" Virgil asked as he sat his cup down and Ulysses looked at him, "Okay, just keep an open mind Virgil," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at his friend then listened to the deal that Ulysses struck up with Cyrene and Virgil shook his head as he stood.

"Ah, ah…no way," Virgil said as he grabbed his bags and headed towards the stairs where he proceeded to head to his room and Ulysses followed him with his own bags in his hands. "Come on Virgil," Ulysses said and Virgil spun and looked at his friend, "are you crazy? Have you lost your mind or maybe the fall from the waterfall did damage you but it was damage I couldn't see on the outside. There is no way we're staying here for a couple of months, running around fixing things in this Inn and being bodyguards, just so you can get to know this woman only for you to sleep with her and then you'll be ready to go."

Virgil said and Ulysses shook his head, "it's not like that Virgil, not with her," Ulysses said and Virgil let out a breath. "Ulysses this Xena is a rare beauty I'll give you that," Virgil said and Ulysses stopped him. "It's not just that. I…there's something about her I can't explain it but when I look into her eyes I fall into them and there's this connection I feel." Ulysses said and Virgil let out a breath as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "Virgil please do this for me, I swear in a month if I haven't made any progress we can leave," Ulysses said and Virgil let out a breath then looked at Ulysses. "You know it was all ways the pretty ones that got you," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned, "one month Ulysses, one month and if you haven't gotten so much as a kiss out of her by then, we're leaving. No if's, and's or but's," Virgil said and Ulysses smiled and nodded. "Thanks," he said then hugged Virgil, "you won't regret this," he said when the hug ended and Virgil shook his head at Ulysses then pulled out his key, opened the door and went into his room.

Ulysses grinned to himself as he went into his room placing his bags on the wall by the bed then closed the door and locked it. He took off his shirt and boots then lay down on the bed placing his arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "Xena, Xena, who are you and what are you doing to me?" He asked with a smile on his face as he thought about her and he continued to lay there thinking about her until he dosed off. "He seems like a nice, honest young man," Cyrene said as she placed the tray on the counter and looked at Xena who was washing the dishes. "Yea, we'll see," Xena said and Cyrene looked at her daughter.

"Xena," Cyrene said and Xena let out a breath, "are you in that much of a rush to marry me off mother?" Xena asked as she turned and looked at her mother and Cyrene shook her head, "No, I'm in a rush to see you happy. To see you in love," Cyrene said as she walked over to her daughter and Xena let out a breath as she dried her hands then turned and looked at her mother. "I'd like that too but I'd have to change who I am," Xena said and Cyrene shook her head, "I don't sense that with this man. But as you said, we'll see," Cyrene said and Xena nodded.

"If you really want to know, I am in a rush to get some grandchildren," Cyrene said and Xena grinned as she rolled her eyes, "and your brothers are running around here unmarried and where are they anyway?" Cyrene asked and Xena grinned, "sleep," she said and Cyrene looked at her. "Did they eat anything?" Cyrene asked and Xena shook her head, "no, they didn't even take a bath, they're in their beds asleep just as dirty as when they walked in here." Xena said and Cyrene shook her head as she went down the stairs and Xena grinned when she heard the groans of her brothers and her mother fussing at them. "Messing up clean sheets like that, what's the matter with you two?" Cyrene said as she ushered her sons up the stairs, "take a bath and put something in your stomachs, then go to bed." Cyrene said and they only nodded as they headed to the bathing room. Cyrene shook her head at her sons as she walked over to the counter and began cleaning up, "their so exhausted, we need more hands but I just don't have the money for it."

Cyrene said and then she thought about it, "Maybe I can get Ulysses to help," Cyrene said, "what?" Xena asked as she spun around and looked at her mother. "Did I forget to tell you dear?" Cyrene asked, "Tell me what mom?" Xena asked and her mother looked at her, "Ulysses and his friend are going to be working here for a while; helping me to get some things repaired around here, move heavy stuff, things like that since your brothers are so busy with the fields."

She said and Xena looked at her, "it was his idea, not mine," Cyrene said and Xena shook her head as she turned back around and continued washing dishes. "Well I guess it couldn't hurt and maybe he and his friend can take some of the strain off of Lyceus and Toris." Xena said and Cyrene grinned, "exactly what I was thinking when I hired him," Cyrene said and Xena just continued washing dishes. "Wait, but you just said you didn't have the money for extra hands so how are you paying Ulysses and Virgil?" Xena asked, "Well, he said he didn't want to be paid. All he wanted was for he and his friend to be able to stay in their rooms without cost as well as be able to eat and bathe."

Cyrene said and Xena turned and looked at her, "that's all? He didn't ask for any money?" Xena asked and Cyrene shook her head, "nope, that was all." Cyrene said and Xena turned back around, "though I think he just wants to be around you more. Get to know you," Cyrene said and that gave Xena something to think about and think about it she did, from the moment she helped her mother clean up the Inn to the point she laid down and went to sleep.

**Continued in**

**Chapter Three: The Beginning of Xena and Ulysses' Relationship**

**Feedback **


	3. Chapter 3

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. Just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played. So the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. lol If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if its too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination.

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together. There is no more violence than your regular Xena episode.

**Chapter Three: The Beginning of Xena and Ulysses' Relationship**

When morning came Ulysses was up bright and early eager to get the day started, so he went downstairs to the bathing room which held four nice size round tubs made out of wood and two showers. Ulysses decided to take a shower and when he was done he headed upstairs to his room where he dressed then headed downstairs. When he got downstairs the Inn was open but since it was early morning there weren't many people there but that would soon change if last night was any indication. Ulysses walked over to the table where he saw Virgil sitting with his head down on the table and Ulysses grinned as he sat down.

"Good morning," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him, "too early. Ulysses why in the world are we up this early, the sun just rose a few minutes ago?" Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him, "I wanted to get an early start," Ulysses said and Virgil shook his head. Ulysses looked up as Toris and Lyceus walked out of the kitchen and over to their table, "morning," Toris said. "Good morning," Ulysses said, "I'm Toris and this is my brother Lyceus," Toris said and Ulysses nodded as he shook both of their hands. "I'm Ulysses and this is my friend Virgil," Ulysses said and Toris shook Virgil's hand then turned and looked at Ulysses. "I heard what you did last night when those thugs came in and I want to say thank you for protecting my mother and sister," Toris said and Ulysses nodded. "It wasn't a problem," Ulysses said, "we usually would have been up here but we had an exhausting day and well, we fell asleep." Lyceus said with a sheepish grin and Ulysses nodded, "believe me I understand. Could you guys maybe use some extra hands?"

Ulysses asked and Toris looked at him, "are you kidding?" Toris asked, "wait mom doesn't have the extra money," Lyceus said and Toris nodded. "That's okay, Cyrene and I worked it all out last night. Virgil and I stay for free and eat for free and we help you guys out wherever needed," Ulysses said and Virgil began to say something when Ulysses kicked him under the table and Virgil frowned at him but kept his mouth closed. "Oh, okay but that seems like we're taking advantage of you," Toris said and Ulysses shook his head then looked over to the front door and saw Xena walk in. She was coming from her run and exercise so she was covered in a light sheen of sweat, "believe me you're not," he said then grinned when Xena looked at him and grinned. Toris and Lyceus both turned their heads to see what Ulysses was looking and grinning at and they saw Xena grinning back and she just shook her head as she walked into the kitchen; Ulysses found himself looking at her perfect, strong, in perfect shape thighs since she had on shorts that came to the middle of her thighs.

Toris and Lyceus turned back and looked at Ulysses who looked at them, "so do you guys want the help or not?" Ulysses asked and they looked at him, "yea we can definitely use it," Toris said. "Um my mother didn't agree to marry Xena off to you if you did all these things for free did she?" Lyceus asked and Ulysses shook his head, "nothing of the sort," Ulysses said and Lyceus nodded. "Sorry just had to make sure," Lyceus said and Ulysses nodded, "I understand, you're her brother you're protective of her," Ulysses said and Lyceus and Toris both nodded. "I have a few things to fix here today and if Cyrene doesn't have anything else for me to do I'll meet you guys out in the fields. Until then Virgil will go with you," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him and when Ulysses kicked him he nodded, "um…yea, yea just let me get a little something in my stomach." Virgil said as he turned and looked at Toris and Lyceus and they nodded then walked away. When they were out of ear shot Virgil kicked Ulysses back under the table, "we're not getting paid? And what in Tartarus do I know about farming?"

Virgil asked and Ulysses looked at him, "will you relax. We're not getting paid because we don't need the money, if we took their money Virgil, it would be like we were taking advantage of them. And secondly, so you don't know anything about farming, neither do I but we'll learn." Ulysses said and Virgil looked at Ulysses as he let out a breath and shook his head, "all this for a woman. I tell you she better be worth it," Virgil said then stood and went over to the bar where he talked to one of the other waitresses. Ulysses looked over to the kitchen door as Cyrene walked out of the kitchen and he stood and went over to her. "Good morning Cyrene," Ulysses said and she smiled at him, "good morning Ulysses," she said. "Do you happen to have any tools?" Ulysses asked and Cyrene nodded, "I told Toris to get them for you, he should be back in a minute," she said and Ulysses nodded then turned his attention to Xena who walked out of the kitchen with a belt that held tools in it. "These are for you," Xena said as she placed them on the bar and he grinned at her, "thanks," he said and she gave him a small grin as she nodded.

"Um Xena," Ulysses called as she began to walk away and she turned and looked at him, "would you like to have dinner before the crowd comes in? That way we'll be able to here each other when we talk and you'll still be able to help your mother with the rush." He said and she looked at him, "sure, whatever," she said in a nonchalant voice trying to make it seem that she wasn't excited about dinner tonight with him when she was actually looking forward to it. Ulysses watched her go then let out a breath and Cyrene grinned as she patted his hand, "don't fret dear, that's just how she is.

If you're truly sincere about getting to know her then eventually you'll learn her many ways and moods. This will be a real experience for you, Xena is a real challenge," Cyrene said and Ulysses grinned. "Challenges are my specialty, you'll see Cyrene, I'll win your daughter's heart," Ulysses said and Cyrene grinned, "we'll see," she said as she headed back into the kitchen. _'You'll win her daughter's heart? Where in the world did that come from Ulysses? You've never wanted anything more than comfort and sex from a woman and now you want to win Xena's heart. Not only that, you want her to capture yours. Gods what am I getting myself in to?'_

Ulysses thought to himself then grabbed the belt and put it on then grabbed the table that was broken from last night and brought it through the kitchen where he decided not paying that much attention to Xena was a good thing. He brought the table out through the backdoor, outside where he would have plenty room to work and better lighting to see. "Ulysses depending on how well you fix that table I've got some other tables and chairs that need fixing," Cyrene said as she stood in the doorway and Ulysses nodded then went to work. Ulysses was thanking the gods that he hung around a builder for some months when he was a teenager, otherwise he would have been all talk. The problem with that table was, one of the legs were broken, another was shaky and there were a couple of deep nicks Ulysses was sure he could fix. So he cut some wood using the chopping block that was in the yard; he cut the wood then cut it into the length he would need. When he was finished he stooped down by the table and looked at the other legs, measuring the new one he was about to make and making sure he made it as the same shape as the others.

It took him about fifteen minutes to shape the leg into the way it was supposed to be and then he used some rough papyrus to sand it down so that it was smooth and the edges were nice. When he was done he pulled the hammer and a few nails from the belt and put the leg onto the table. When he was done he looked at the leg that was shaky and saw that a nail was bent so he pulled it out, sand the leg down some then nailed it back onto the table. By the time he was finished the table was sturdier than it had ever been and he grinned to himself happy with his work and that he hadn't forgotten how to do these things. _'Now for these nicks'_ Ulysses thought as he looked at them, they were too deep to sand down but he had an idea. He picked up a few chips and splinters of wood and shaped them with a knife into that shape of the nicks on the table. He used some wood glue and glued them in place letting each dry before he came back and sanded them down to perfection; he looked at the table and nodded. "Cyrene," Ulysses called and the innkeeper walked out of the back door wiping her hands on her apron as she walked over to Ulysses.

"What do you think?" Ulysses asked and Cyrene walked around the table looking at it then shook it to check its sturdiness and one of her eyebrows went up in surprise. "This is real good," she said then looked closer at the table, "what happened to the nicks that were in this table?" She asked as she looked at Ulysses, "oh I just used some wood and placed them in the nicks then sanded them down so that they actually became a part of the table." He said and she looked at him and nodded, "Xena come see this," Cyrene called and Ulysses picked up one of the tools as Xena walked out of the kitchen and over to the table. Ulysses raised his eyes and looked at Xena who was in a sleeveless shirt and skirt that fell to the middle of her legs and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He watched as she checked the table and saw surprise in her eyes but as soon as he saw it, it was gone. "Not bad," she said as she looked at Ulysses and he nodded, "thanks," he said and she nodded then headed back into the kitchen and Ulysses let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding.

"I like your work Ulysses," Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded, "thanks," he said and she nodded, "now bring that one back inside and I'll show you some other's that need some work." Cyrene said then headed back into the Inn and Ulysses picked up the table and carried it back into the Inn going through the kitchen into the dinning area where he sat the table down where it used to be. He walked back into the kitchen where Cyrene told him to follow her down the stairs and then they walked down the hall until she came to a door.

She opened it and Ulysses looked inside where he saw broken tables, chairs, stools and even a few pieces of furniture such as beds and dressers. "All of this?" Ulysses asked and Cyrene nodded, "yea, some people just get carried away when they come to an Inn." Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded, "I'm gonna need more wood," he said, "check behind the barn," Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded. "Well I guess I better get to work," he said then walked into the room grabbing two broken chairs and coming out with them. Cyrene grinned as she watched him then followed him back up the stairs and to the kitchen where she continued cooking with Xena of course helping.

The day was passing by quickly for Ulysses as he fixed chairs and stools, first getting the smaller things out of the way before he tackled the big things like the tables, beds and dressers. As the day moved on the sun beamed down on him to the point that he got so hot he took his shirt off, placing it off to the side as he continued working. Xena was in the kitchen mixing up some batter for a cake when she looked up towards the window and saw Ulysses shirtless as he stooped down and looked at a chair. His back shined a little with sweat and she could see his muscles move as he moved, her eyes traveled over Ulysses body as he stood and she got a chance to look at his muscled chest and stomach and her eyes ran down to his thighs that looked so strong and when he turned she could see his butt. "Real nice," Cyrene said as she looked out the window as well, startling Xena out of her observation and the day dream she was on the verge of having. "He's alright," she said in that same nonchalant voice from earlier as she continued to stir the contents in the bowl.

Cyrene grinned as she shook her head at her daughter, "its hot out there, why don't you go bring him a cup of water," Cyrene suggested and Xena looked at her. "But the cake," Xena said and Cyrene took the bowl from her daughter's hands, "I'll finish stirring, it's not going to take you an hour to bring him a cup of water." Cyrene said and Xena nodded then walked over to the pitcher which sat in a cupboard to keep the water cool. She poured some of the water into a cup then placed the pitcher back, before she headed out the door. She walked over to Ulysses who was staring at the chair with some thought, "Ulysses," Xena called, "hmm?" He answered as he continued to look at the chair, "I brought you some water," she said and he looked up at her. "Thanks," he said then stood and was about to take the cup from Xena when he had an idea. "Would you do me a favor?" He asked and she looked at him, "it depends on what it is," she said and he grinned at her. "Are you normally this suspicious?" He asked and she looked at him, "only with strange men I don't know," she said with a grin and he grinned back.

"Well hopefully our dinner this evening will begin to remedy that problem," Ulysses said and she gave him a small grin, "perhaps," she said. "Will you sit in this chair for me?" Ulysses asked and Xena raised an eyebrow causing him to grin, "look, I'm just trying to fix it, I assure you, you won't fall and it won't break." He said and she looked at him and nodded then sat down. The chair rocked a little but it didn't break; Xena looked at Ulysses as he stooped down and looked at the back of the chair around its legs, "lean back for me," he said and Xena leaned back in chair and Ulysses found what he was looking for. "There's the problem," Ulysses said, "what?" Xena asked unable to stop herself, "well this leg is on at a weird angle," Ulysses said then grabbed the hammer and it the leg knocking it into the angle he wanted it to be in. When that was done he grabbed a nail and hammered it into the leg at a weird angle but it would keep the leg in the angle he put it on. When he was done Ulysses shook his head as he realized all the legs were like that. He did the other back leg then moved up to the front leg close to Xena's leg, "can I get up?"

She asked, "no, not just yet," he said as he fixed that leg then moved over to the other and when he was finished he was on his knees in front of Xena and was looking into her eyes. "Um…I'm not going to hurt you but I want to see something else," he said and she looked into his eyes and nodded. Instead of being on his knees in front of Xena he stooped down and continued to look in her eyes as he leaned forward and grabbed the sides of the chair the part which Xena was sitting on. "You might want to put your hands on my shoulders," he said and she looked at him, "I'll be fine," she said and he nodded then with the strength in his arms and using his legs he picked the chair up with Xena still in it. She rocked some and her hands flew to Ulysses' upper arms where she held on and she could feel the muscles rippling underneath. "Told you to hold on," he said as he looked at her and she looked back at him, "would you just hurry up and do whatever it is you're gonna do." Xena said and Ulysses nodded and looked at the chair as Xena said in it, "lean forward," he said and she leaned forward a little and he chuckled.

"Look Xena I need to see the back of the chair and how its holding up under pressure so I'm gonna need you to lean forward enough so that I can see." He said then looked into her eyes, "I won't hurt you," he said and she looked into his eyes and let out a breath as she leaned forward until she was presses against him. Ulysses closed his eyes momentarily to inhale her beautiful scent, "that's good, now just hold that position," Ulysses said then looked at the back off the chair and saw that it did need a little work. "Okay I'm finished," he said but Xena didn't seem to hear him as she luxuriated in the feel and smell of him and for a moment she wondered how his skin tasted. "Xena," Ulysses called snapping her out of her thoughts and she looked at him, "I'm finished," he said and Xena nodded and pulled back as he lowered the chair to the ground but her hands still held his arms. Ulysses looked into her eyes as he stood and took one of her hands from his arm and pulled her up to her feet and she looked into his eyes falling into them like he was falling into hers. "You are so beautiful," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "is that all you see when you look at me?"

She asked and Ulysses grinned as he shook his head, "no I see so much more. I see that you're intelligent, brave, honest, bold, extremely interesting," he said and she smiled at him as she turned her head to the side a small blush appearing on her face and he smiled at her. "You have the most beautiful smile," he said as he caressed her cheek with his fingers and this small touch felt so good she couldn't help but lean slightly into it. Ulysses looked at her as she leaned into his touch, _'gods her skin is so soft, so warm,'_ he thought to himself but didn't want it to seem like he was moving too fast too soon so he removed his fingers and looked at her. "You said you brought me some water," he said snapping Xena out of her own thoughts and she nodded then stooped down and picked up the cup from the ground and handed it to him. "Thanks," he said as he took it from her and down the cup's entire contents. Xena saw a drop of water roll down the side of his mouth down his chin and she found herself wanting to be that drop of water and then she wanted to kiss it away _'stop that, stop that, stop that. Get those thought out of your mind, you don't even know this man, for all you know he could be a killer._

_But I don't see that when I look into his eyes. Those beautiful brown eyes; stop, stop, stop just take the cup and go back into the Inn. Do it now before you do something you regret'_ Xena told herself and she gave Ulysses a grin as she took the cup from him. "It's almost time for lunch isn't it?" Ulysses asked as he looked up at the sky then back at Xena who nodded, "yea, I'll be getting ready to take Toris, Lyceus and your friend some lunch." Xena said and Ulysses nodded and watched as she turned to go, "Xena," he called and she turned and looked at him. "Yea?" She answered, "do you mind if I take that walk with you, I promised Toris and Lyceus I'd help them with the fields." Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "alright, I'll be leaving in about fifteen minutes," she said and Ulysses nodded and watched as she walked back into the Inn and he turned around and grinned to himself as it seemed like he was making a little progress. Xena walked back into the kitchen and sat the cup down on the counter then turned and looked at her mother who was stirring a pot.

Xena sat down on a stool and grabbed a knife as she began chopping up vegetable, "so, what color are his eyes?" Cyrene asked, "brown, but their light, kind of like the light brown on top of a cake when its…" she started saying without thought then looked at her mother who was grinning from ear to ear. "And how did it feel to be so close to him?" Cyrene asked and Xena shook her head and turned her attention to what she was chopping, "I don't know," she said and Cyrene grinned as she walked over to the counter and looked at her daughter. "Come on Xena, there are some things you don't fight, there are some things you just let happen. Like falling in love," Cyrene said then raised her daughter's chin so that she was looking into Xena's confused eyes. "And there are some things you can't help, like your strong attraction to Ulysses and his strong attraction to you," Cyrene said and Xena looked into her mother's eyes. "How do you know so much?" Xena asked and Cyrene grinned at her, "I'm your mother dear, plus I was a young woman once myself," she said and Xena looked at her mother then down at a vegetable she was toying with.

"I don't even know him but being in his arms felt so good, for that small amount of time I felt so content so safe," Xena said then looked into her mother's eyes. "That can't be right I just met him yesterday and already…" she said but didn't finish and she didn't have to. "He's invoking feelings in you you've never felt and those feelings feel so good but at the same time so wrong because you don't know him," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her mother and nodded. "What do I do momma?" Xena asked in a small voice and Cyrene grinned at her as she placed her hand on top of her daughter's hands. "Get to know him Xena, spend time with him. See if you can like the man he is and if he can like the woman you are, you both probably have more in common than you know. And I know it's a scary thought but let him into your heart," Cyrene said and Xena looked down. "I don't know if I can do that," Xena said and Cyrene looked at her, "then just get to know him and in time that may come naturally," Cyrene said and Xena nodded.

"Now I've fished the lunches so grab that basket over there and take it to your brothers and Virgil, there's also enough in there for you and Ulysses." Cyrene said and Xena nodded as she took off her apron hanging it up on the hook on the wall and then she went to go wash up real quick. Cyrene grinned then looked up as Ulysses walked into the kitchen with two chairs and headed downstairs where he placed them back in the room. He came back up the stairs and let out a breath as he grabbed a towel and wiped his face and hands on it. "Cyrene I told Toris and Lyceus that I would help them with the fields so I'll do some work here in the mornings then head over to the fields after lunch." Ulysses said and Cyrene nodded, "sounds good, thank you for the work you've done already, the things you've fixed are better than they ever were." Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded, "it was no problem," he said then looked at Xena as she came up the stairs and now her hair was hanging, the length of it past her shoulders. "Are you ready?" She asked and Ulysses nodded as he stood and Xena grabbed the basket off of the counter, "I'll be back in a couple of minutes mom," Xena said, "take your time dear, Dana will help me while you're gone."

Cyrene said and Xena nodded and grinned at Ulysses as he held the door open for her and she walked out and he followed her. "Can I take that for you?" Ulysses asked referring to the basket and Xena looked down at it, "no, I've got it," she said and Ulysses nodded and they walked for a minute and Xena looked at him. _'He's only trying to be a gentleman Xena'_ she berated herself, "on second thought, you could," she said and he looked at her. "Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded, "yea that is if you don't mind," she said and Ulysses shook his head and took the basket from her. They walked for a couple of minutes in silence and Xena looked at Ulysses, "so Ulysses are you a builder?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her then shook his head, "no not really, I just like working with my hands," he said and Xena nodded. "Well someone must've taught you what you know, from what I've seen you're real good." Xena said and Ulysses grinned, "really? I thought I wasn't bad?" Ulysses said as he repeated her words from earlier and she grinned at him as she nodded, "yea well, I'm guarded around people I don't know."

She said and Ulysses nodded, "so I see and so you should be. Not everyone man is as honest and good looking as I am," he said with a grin and she chuckled at him. "What you don't think I'm good looking?" He asked and she looked at him, "you're alright," she said with a sort of straight face. _'Ooh you know you're lying, that man is the best looking man you've ever seen'_ Xena thought to herself and Ulysses grinned as he nodded. "I'm alright," he said then looked at Xena, "you know you just crushed all my hopes." Ulysses said and Xena chuckled at him, "here I am going around Greece thinking I'm as handsome as Apollo or Ares," Ulysses said and Xena laughed at him and Ulysses smiled he loved the sound of her laughter. "And you just crushed that wonderful dream," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she looked at him. "Can I at least get that I'm better than alright?" He asked and she grinned as she looked at him, "alright, you're better than alright," she said and he nodded. "That's better, now I'm not totally crushed," he said and she chuckled at him. "Xena of Amphipolis says I'm better than alright and her word means something," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him, "my word only means something to about a hand full of people."

Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "well, your word means something to me, if that means anything," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him and nodded, "it does." She said and Ulysses nodded and they continued walking and doing a little talking. Toris, Lyceus and Virgil were taking a break since it was around the time when Xena would bring them lunch; Toris was washing his hands in a bucket of clean water trying to get the dirt off of his hands. "Hey Toris," Lyceus said as he hit his brother arm and Toris looked up to see Xena and Ulysses walking towards them but what caught their eye, was that Xena was smiling as she talked to Ulysses who was also smiling. "Hey guys," Ulysses said as they stood in front of them and Toris looked at him, "hey," he said then looked at Xena. "I brought your lunch," Xena said and they just looked at her while Ulysses looked around for Virgil and found him sitting under a tree with his knees drawn up, eyes closed and head leaned back. "He's been a real help, had to show him something only once and he got it," Lyceus said and Ulysses nodded, "yea that's Virgil, he was always the smart one in our class."

Ulysses said then decided to walk over to Virgil while Xena handed her brothers their lunch; Ulysses stooped down next to Virgil and looked at his friend, "how's it going?" Ulysses asked and Virgil grinned, "when this is all over I'm going to kill you," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded. "That bad huh?" Ulysses asked and Virgil turned his head and looked at his friend, "well if it's any help, they said you've been a real help, that you learn really fast," Ulysses said and Virgil was about to say something Ulysses was pretty sure would have been nasty but he looked up as Xena walked over. "I'll talk to you later," Virgil said between clenched teeth as he smiled at Xena while standing. "Thank you," he said as he took the sandwich from her and she grinned and nodded, "my brothers have some cool cider down there." Xena said and Virgil nodded and headed down to Toris and Lyceus where he sat down and ate with them sharing some conversation. Xena walked over to Ulysses who had sat down and handed him a sandwich out of the basket, "thank you, will you join me?" He asked and she looked at him, "are you sure you don't want some time to yourself to relax?"

Xena asked and Ulysses grinned as he shook his head, "no, I might start thinking too much, besides I like your company," he said and Xena grinned. "Of course you might think you're too beautiful to have lunch with a guy that's a little more than alright," he said still pretending like he was offended and Xena chuckled at him. "Oh here," he said as he took off his shirt and placed it on the ground so that she could sit down and she grinned at him, "thanks, but I don't think the dirt would have hurt my dress," she said as she sat down and he hunched his shoulders. "Who said it was the dress I was worried about?" He asked as he unwrapped the cloth from around the sandwich and Xena looked at him, a grin coming to her features as she unwrapped her own sandwich and Ulysses caught a glimpse of that grin. As they sat there and ate, Ulysses poured Xena some cider into her glass, handing it to her and then he poured some in his own glass.

"So you went to school?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded as he chewed the food in his mouth, "yea, back home, Virgil and I went to an academy," he said and Xena nodded. "And where is home?" She asked and he looked at her then looked down at his sandwich, "would you be terribly upset if I didn't tell you?" He asked and she looked at him, "no, we all have our secrets but assuming I'm correct in this and you stop me if I'm not, but you want to get to know me so that perhaps we can become more than friends." Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "but a relationship can't go far with secrets Ulysses," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "I know that Xena but me not telling you where I'm from, has more to do with me and my fears. How about I explain more at dinner?" He asked and she looked at him and nodded, "sure," she said and then they went back to eating and things were quiet for a while. "So, you're saying that there is a chance that you and I could be more than friends?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned at him, "maybe. Our time tonight at dinner will tell, as well as days, weeks and months after that."

Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he nodded, "I'm willing to take however much time is needed for you and I to get to know each other. You're not going to scare me off with time Xena," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him and nodded then finished her sandwich. "Well I better be going," she said as she placed things back in the basket and Ulysses finished his sandwich and threw the cloth in the basket. Ulysses stood then held out his hand to Xena who grinned as she took it and he pulled her up to her feet, he stooped down and picked up the basket for her and her grin turned into a smile. "I'll see you at dinner," she said and Ulysses nodded, "I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said and she grinned and nodded then walked away and Ulysses watched her for a moment then picked up his shirt and shook it before he put it on. Xena walked over to her brothers and Virgil and they placed their things back into the basket and Virgil walked over to Ulysses. "Mom told me to tell you guys to end a candle mark early today," Xena said and they looked at her. "Why?" Toris asked, "well for one, you were dead tired yesterday and well…I have dinner plans with Ulysses."

She said and they looked at her, "Xena what are you doing with this guy?" Toris asked, "nothing, its just dinner," Xena said and they looked at her. "I thought you liked him?" Xena asked, "we don't know him and neither do you," Lyceus said and Xena looked at him. "Which is the whole purpose of the dinner," Xena said and Toris looked at her then shook his head, "it's your life Xena but all I can say is be careful and if he hurts you, I'll kill him," Toris said as he looked into his sister's eyes then walked away. Xena let out a breath and looked at Lyceus who looked back at her, "I'm tired of being alone Ly and so far he likes me for me. He's interested in who I am and not just the way I look, I'm not going to jump into bed with him and then marry him. You know that's not me, besides, he says he just wants to get to know me," Xena said and Lyceus nodded. "Every man wants something from a woman Xena, whether its money, sex or companionship so ask yourself what does Ulysses wants from you.

If he's someone you feel you can trust then get to know him Xena, I mean really get to know him, find out his darkest secrets and his most passionate desires. When you get to know these things, then and only then, do you let him into your heart; I don't want you to get hurt again," he said and Xena nodded. "I know, believe me I've been thinking about it," she said and he looked at her, "you've still never told mother or even Corrinna?" Lyceus asked and Xena shook her head, "I couldn't, it was just…too hard," she said then let out a breath as she raised her eyes and looked at her brother. "That's all behind me now, anyway I'm looking forward to a new and brighter future and who knows what good things can happen." Xena said and Lyceus grinned and nodded, "who knows," he said and Xena grinned at him. "You know you and Toris need to find yourselves some girlfriends so mom can stop harassing me about grandchildren," Xena said and Lyceus chuckled.

Ulysses watched from a far as Xena talked to her brother and he watched as she smiled and laughed; he watched as she placed a kiss on Lyceus' cheek then walked away heading back to the Inn. "Why don't I show you just what I've been up to," Virgil said as he wrapped his arm around Ulysses' shoulder and Ulysses looked at him then got this bad feeling that this was going to be the way Virgil was going to repay him. Xena made it back to the Inn and when she got there her mother was sitting at the table peeling potatoes and talking with Corrinna. "Xena you're back, I thought you would have been longer," Cyrene said and Xena grinned at her. "I'm sure you did," Xena said as she placed the basket on the counter, "what's this Cyrene's telling me about some handsome young man who's very interested in you. He even saved the Inn from being destroyed," Corrinna said and Xena grinned.

"His name is Ulysses which I'm sure mother has already told you and we're just having dinner tonight so that we can start to get to know each other," Xena said as she placed the cups in the sink then turned and looked at them. "And don't you guys go making a big deal out of this, its just dinner," Xena said and they nodded. "Its just dinner, got it," Cyrene said and Xena rolled her eyes as she walked out of the kitchen while hearing her mother and Corrinna chuckle. Xena walked out into the dinning area and grabbed a wet towel from behind the bar and began wiping off tables, as she did that her mind wandered to Ulysses and she found herself grinning as she thought about him. The rest of the day seemed to pass by fast for both Xena and Ulysses and before either one of the knew it, time snuck up on them and it was time for Xena to go get cleaned up and dressed and it was time for Ulysses to head back to the Inn to take a shower and put on fresh clothes.

"I've got to go or I'm going to be late," Ulysses said as he grabbed his shirt and Virgil just rolled his eyes, "go ahead Ulysses," Lyceus said and Ulysses looked at him. "Are you sure?" He asked and Lyceus nodded, "trust me you don't want to make Xena wait," he said and Ulysses nodded. "I'll make it up to you guys tomorrow," Ulysses said then took off running the way he came with Xena. Cyrene and Corrinna looked up as Ulysses ran threw the door and up the stairs with his shirt in his hands. "That was him?" Corrinna asked and Cyrene nodded, "not bad from the blur I saw of him," Corrinna said and Cyrene grinned. Ulysses raced up to his room and went into his bag throwing clothes all around until he found a shirt and pair of pants that were acceptable to him. He raced down stairs to the bathing room where he quickly took a shower, making sure to catch all the important parts, especially under his arms. When he was done, he quickly dried himself off, along with his hair that he washed. He put his clothes on then ran back up to his room where he threw the dirty clothes into a corner and looked into a mirror as he fixed his clothes.

He tucked his shirt neatly into his pants then pulled it out some; he sat down on the bed and put on his boots and when he was done he grabbed his brush and brushed his wet hair back. He looked at himself in the mirror then let out a breath before he walked out of his room and went downstairs to the kitchen where he looked around, "she hasn't come up yet has she?" He asked and Cyrene shook her head, "good," Ulysses said then let out a breath as he sat down in a chair only to pop up a minute later. "Where are you going?" Cyrene asked, "I've got to get something," he said as he walked out of the kitchen. He walked back into the kitchen five minutes later breathing hard but Cyrene grinned as she saw the bouquet of lilies in his hands. "You ran all the way to the market to get some flowers?" Cyrene asked and Ulysses nodded and Corrinna grinned. "I like that, a man who knows how to treat a woman," Corrinna said as she stood and Ulysses looked at her. "My name is Corrinna," she said as she held out her hand and Ulysses grinned as he shook it.

"Ulysses," he said and Corrinna nodded, "I know," she said then began circling him. "Not bad," she said then got a look at his butt, "not bad at all," she said. "He's alright," a voice said from the stairs and Ulysses turned and looked at Xena as she walked up the stairs, her eyes meeting his. "She likes hurting my feelings," Ulysses said to Corrinna and Xena chuckled at Ulysses as she walked up to him. "You look…" he said then shook his head since he was at a loss for words, which was a first for him. Xena wore a sea green dress that fell down to the middle of her legs but clung to all of her curves; it showed off enough cleavage to keep him interested and the dress was made so that her chest was out as well as her shoulders since the straps were thin. Ulysses' eyes went down to Xena's legs which were smooth and shined with oil and she wore sandals. He looked at her and her hair was down but it was brushed and it shined with being cleaned and oiled. "There are no words that could even touch on how beautiful you look."

He said and she grinned at him, "thank you and I must say you do look handsome," she said and Ulysses smiled as he put his hand over his heart. "The gods must be smiling down on me, Xena thinks I'm handsome," he said and she chuckled at him. "These are for you," he said as he handed her the flowers and she took them from him with a look of surprise and wonder on her face. "You don't like them?" He asked afraid that he had already done something wrong and she shook her head at him, "no I do like them, I love them," she said as she looked at the pink and white lilies. "Lilies are my favorite, their very beautiful, thank you," she said and Ulysses nodded. "Here I'll take those and put them in some water," Corrinna said as she took the flowers from Xena. "There's a table ready for you guys over in the corner and I'll have dinner out in a little bit," Cyrene said and they nodded. "Shall we?" He asked as he held out his arm to her and Xena grinned as she placed her hand on his arm and they walked out of the kitchen. Ulysses escorted Xena over to the table that had been set up for them which was clear since it was different than any other table.

There was a table cloth on this table and two candle sticks along with a cooled bottle of wine; Ulysses pulled out Xena's chair for her and she grinned as she sat down. "Would you like some wine?" He asked and Xena grinned and nodded, "please," she said and Ulysses grinned as he unstopped the wine then picked up Xena's glass and filled it half way. "Thank you," she said as she took the glass from him and he nodded then poured himself a half a glass of wine then sat down in his chair across the table from Xena. "This is nice," Xena said referring to the table and atmosphere as she took a sip of wine, "yea I'll have to remember to thank Cyrene. My mind was totally gone, I was scattered; all I could think about was having dinner with you. I seemed to have forgotten about the actual dinner," he said with a grin and Xena grinned and nodded. "Well I must admit I'd forgotten about it as well, you were on my mind," she said and Ulysses smiled and nodded. "That's nice to know," he said then let out a breath as he looked at Xena.

"So tell me about yourself Xena," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "what would you like to know?" She asked, "Everything," he said as he looked into her beautiful blue eyes and Xena grinned at him. "Well I was born and raised in Amphipolis, I'm twenty years old and I'm not like the other girls in the village." Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "I know, if you were I wouldn't have been interested," he said and she looked at him. "Tell me about yourself Ulysses," Xena said and Ulysses took a small gulp of wine then let out a breath, "well my story is a complicated one yet for some it seems so simple. I'm twenty five and I'm from an island, I know you want to know what island but I'm just not ready to tell you yet." He said and Xena looked at him as he ran his finger over the rim of the glass a little grin coming to his face, "at the risk of sounding like a kid, I ran away from home," he said and she looked at him. "And why would you do that?"

Xena asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "my father holds a lot of power at home and he wants me to follow in his footsteps. I just…" Ulysses said then let out a breath, "I just wasn't ready for it or maybe I was I don't know. All I know is that I felt like I was suffocating there, like someone was slowly squeezing the life out of me. I tried to deal with it…I did but I felt alone, empty and I just felt like I was missing something. Something important and please don't ask me what it is because I couldn't even begin to tell you. All I know is that something was calling to me, to my heart, my soul and I knew if I stayed home I would be miserable for the rest of my life." Ulysses said then looked at Xena who looked at him, "and I've scared you off haven't I, with my rambling?" Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him, "no you haven't."

She said, "I know how you were feeling. For years my mother wanted me to be like the rest of the village girls. Dress like them, act like them," Xena said then shook her head. "That just wasn't me; I prefer fishing to playing with dolls or gossiping over boys. I was rough; I liked hanging out with my brothers. Boys talked about me because I could out do them in things that they thought they were great in. I was weird because I thought about fighting rather than what dresses I was going to wear or when I would get married." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "so that's why you said I definitely wasn't from around here?" Ulysses asked and Xena nodded, "most of the young men in the village don't want to be bothered with me because I can fight, because I'm not the type of woman to do what they say and not question it. All they want in a woman is someone to cook, clean and bear their children for them. That's not who I am nor is it who I want to be."

Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "and who do you want to be?" He asked and she looked down at her glass as she swirled the wine in it. "I'm not sure, I just know that I'm meant to do more, be more than a simple village girl." Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "I know what you mean and I don't mind that you know how to fight or even that you like doing it. I see nothing wrong with a woman who can take care of herself," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes. "You're strange," she said and he chuckled at her, "why?"

He asked and she looked at him, "you want the opposite of what all other men want. You actually want a woman who thinks for herself, who does what she wants," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "I do, I don't want some mindless woman who will do whatever I tell her, I had enough of that at home." Ulysses said then placed his elbows on the table as he clasped his hands together while looking into Xena's eyes, "I like a challenge Xena. I like that you think for yourself, you do what you want and you're not concerned about what others think of you. I would not change one thing about you, I like the way you are and I wouldn't want to change anything about you.

If that makes me strange then I guess I am," he said and Xena looked at him then down for a moment. "Well strange isn't all together bad," she said as she raised her eyes and looked at him and Ulysses grinned. "So what does your day usually consist of?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned, "Well let's see. I wake up, go for a run, do some exercising and three days out of the week I have training. When I'm not training I help my mother around the Inn where I can. Despite not wanting to, I learned how to cook, my mother says very well so I help her cook.

When I'm not cooking I help wait tables, wash clothes, clean up around the Inn. You name it I do it; when the dinner rush comes in, I wait on tables and I usually wind up crushing a few hands or punching some man for not knowing how to keep his hands to himself." Xena said and Ulysses smiled as he took a gulp of wine, "yes, you are a good fighter from what I've seen. You have a nice perfect flow to your moves, like dancing." Ulysses said and Xena grinned, "yea, well I'm learning from the best," she said. "And who would that be?" He asked and she grinned at him as she picked up her glass, "you have your secrets, I have mine."

She said and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "don't let me interrupt you guys I'm just bringing your dinner," the waitress said as she placed their plates on the table. "Cynthia this is Ulysses, Ulysses this is Cynthia, she's a good friend at least one of the women in this village who doesn't judge me." Xena said and Cynthia grinned, "My mother always taught me you don't judge someone you don't know. It's nice to meet you Ulysses," she said and he grinned at her. "Same here," he said and she nodded then walked away. "So other than fighting, what do you like to do?" Ulysses asked as they began eating, "well as I said I like fishing, Lyceus and I use to do it a lot when we were younger. I like to swim, I like to take walks and enjoy the surroundings; the area around Amphipolis is very beautiful. And I like horses, I like to ride them, it's like nothing I've ever experienced before. I love it, it's like totally being free," Xena said and Ulysses looked at the smile on her face and how her eyes lit up when she talked about horses.

"So if you like horses so much you must have one?" Ulysses said and Xena shook her head as she chewed some food, "I could never afford one. I save money here and there but I always wind up using it for one thing or another. The Inn could be having a slow month and my mother needs help so I help her. Plus I've never really seen a horse that's caught my eye," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Well I like horses but I don't like to ride them, I can and I do when I need to but I don't get that feeling you do." He said with a grin and Xena grinned at him, "it's not for everyone." She said and Ulysses nodded, "I do know how to fish however," he said and Xena looked at him her eyes brightening up, "really?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded, "yea my father taught me." He said and Xena nodded, "so what do you like to do Ulysses?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her, "uh…I haven't done it in a while but I like to sing," he said and Xena grinned as she looked at him with surprise in her eyes.

"Yea, yea I like to sing and yes I can actually sing and maybe I'll show you one day if you don't tease me," he said and she grinned as she held up her hands. "I also can play a few instruments but I like the lyre best, I can play it pretty well but I don't have one. Like you, I like to go for walks, we have some of the most beautiful places at home. I ran and I exercised to keep fit and it also helps to clear my head. Which was pretty often," he said and Xena nodded. "I see you've had a talk with a tree," she said as she ran her finger over the knuckles of his hand and Ulysses grinned. "Yea I had a long talk with a tree a couple of months ago," he said and she nodded. "I know how that can be," she said and they talked a while longer while they finished their dinner. When they were finished, Cynthia came and picked the plates up and they continued talking even as the Inn slowly began to fill up. They joked and laughed and they both were feeling better than they had in months. "I've had a really good time tonight Xena, just sitting here and talking with you, getting to know you, you getting to know me."

Ulysses said as he looked into Xena's eyes and they were both leaning forward, their arms resting on the table. "Yea, I had a great time tonight as well. We should do this again," she said and he looked at her. "Really?" He asked and Xena grinned and nodded, "yea I have a feeling that there is much more to learn about you." Xena said and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "alright, how about tomorrow evening, same time? I can tell I haven't even scratched the surface of the wonderful woman you are," Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded. "Alright," Xena said and Ulysses grinned then stood and held out his hand to Xena. She grinned as she took it and he helped her up and walked her over to the kitchen door, "thank you for the great evening, I haven't had one in a while," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Same for me," he said and she looked into his eyes, "are you getting ready to go to bed?" Xena asked, "No, I'm going to stay down here for a while and keep and eye on things until the crowd goes. Then I'll head up," Ulysses said and Xena nodded.

"Well in case I don't get to tell you later," she said then leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Good night," she whispered to him and he looked into her eyes falling into them. "Good night," he said then watched as she turned and headed into the kitchen, Ulysses let out a breath as he turned and headed back over to their table. He sat down and let out a breath as he picked up his glass and a huge grin came to his face as he thought about Xena. "How was dinner?" Cyrene asked as Xena walked into the kitchen and Xena grinned as she looked at her mother, "I can't lie, it was great," she said and Cyrene smiled as did Corrinna.

"If it's okay with you mom, we're gonna have dinner again tomorrow," Xena said, "that's more than okay with me Xena, it does my heart good to see you smile like that." Cyrene said and Xena blushed as she looked down and grinned. "Yea well, I'm gonna go change," she said then headed down the stairs. "What do you think?" Corrinna asked and Cyrene looked at her, "I think there is definitely something there," Cyrene said and Corrinna nodded. "Definitely, did you see the way they were looking at each other? How much she smiles and laughs around him and she's only known him for two days at the most." Corrinna said and Cyrene nodded, "it'll be good to see her happy. I know she had a relationship once and something bad happened but she won't tell me."

Cyrene said and Corrinna nodded, "neither will she tell me but I think she's told Lyceus," Corrinna said and Cyrene nodded. "It doesn't surprise me; they're close, almost as if they were twins. If something were to ever happen to Lyceus Xena would lose it and if something happened to Xena, I think Lyceus would take it really hard, he would be lost." Cyrene said, "They're good kids Cy, they look out for each other, they'll be fine," Corrinna said as she placed her hands on Cyrene's shoulders. Then leaned in and placed a kiss on her neck, "I miss you," Corrinna whispered and Cyrene turned around and looked at her, "and I miss you."

Cyrene said then leaned in and kissed Corrinna and when the kiss ended Corrinna looked into Cyrene's eyes. "Why are we hiding this Cyrene, especially from the kids? I think they would be happy for us," Corrinna said and Cyrene looked at her. "In time we will tell them Corrinna but you know how this village is, they may not accept our relationship, problems could start." Cyrene said and Corrinna let out a breath and nodded, "I know, I know, I just want us to be together, I'm tired of hiding my love for you and you hiding yours for me, especially from those who we love. We have to sneak around to be together and it's been a while since we've last made love."

Corrinna said, "believe me I know, I've been missing your arms around me but just give it a little more time Cor…please for me," Cyrene said and Corrinna nodded. "For you but we should tell the children soon," Corrinna said and Cyrene nodded, "yea, we will, I promise you. Maybe we can sit down and have a nice dinner and tell them, you're right I think they would be happy for us," Cyrene said and Corrinna grinned and nodded. She leaned in and kissed Cyrene one more time and they their embrace suddenly broke as Xena came back up the stairs. Xena looked at them then walked over to her mother, "what do you need me to do?" Xena asked and Cyrene grinned at her daughter remembering a time when she could barely get Xena in the kitchen. "What you do best," she said and Xena grinned as she went about and starting putting things up. Hours passed by and Ulysses continued to think about Xena as he watched the people that came and left the Inn. He hadn't seen Virgil so when people started leaving the Inn and it was becoming a little less crowded, Ulysses stood and went into the kitchen.

"Hi," he said as he looked at Xena and she grinned, "hey," she said and he walked over to the counter and leaned against it. "Have you seen Virgil?" Ulysses asked and Xena shook her head, "he, Toris and Lyceus took baths and I haven't seen them since." Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded, "well I was wondering could you fix a plate a food for Virgil so that I can take it to him," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "Sure," she said and went to fix a plate for Virgil and Ulysses watched her move. When she fixed the plate she covered it with a cloth then poured some cider into a cup and placed them on the counter, in front of Ulysses. "Thanks," Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "um…I know I may be pushing my luck," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him then grinned as she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Was that what you wanted?" Xena whispered in Ulysses' ear and he nodded. She pulled back and looked into his eyes and she began to fall into them like he was falling into hers.

She brought her hand up and ran her fingers over his cheek and he closed his eyes at her touch, "go, before his food gets cold," Xena said and she removed her fingers and Ulysses looked into her eyes and nodded. "Good night," he said then turned and headed up the stairs and Xena grinned as she turned and continued cleaning up the kitchen. Ulysses went up to Virgil's room where he knocked on the door, he knocked again and a minute later the door opened and Virgil stood there leaning against the door as he looked at Ulysses through tired eyes. "I brought you something to eat," Ulysses said and Virgil took the plate and cup from Ulysses and walked into the room leaving the door open for Ulysses to walk in which he did then closed the door behind him. Virgil walked over to the bed and sat the cup down on the table then took the cloth off of the plate and began eating. "How was your dinner?" Virgil asked as Ulysses sat down on the bed and Ulysses grinned, "it was great, I loved talking to her and I can tell she likes me."

Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "I'm sorry I was snappy earlier," Virgil said and Ulysses shook his head. "It's fine Virgil, I know this change can't be easy for you but I want to thank you for coming this far with me." Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "you're my best friend Ulysses, you're like a brother to me and I'm here because I want to be. I guess I was a little upset that you were finding happiness and I'm still lonely," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him. "You can still find happiness Virgil, you never know your happiness could be in this town also but you have to relax and take everything in stride. I know farming isn't what you want to be doing…" Ulysses started. "Actually I kind of like, in a strange way it relaxes me, it can just be exhausting. Also I'm getting the feel of what real hard work is like, I think I was beginning to get soft," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned at his friend. "You're finding happiness already Virgil, it's just not in the form of sex with a woman," Ulysses said with a grin and Virgil chuckled.

"Yea but I'm happy for you Ulysses, I'm happy that Xena is making you happy. I haven't seen you this happy in a long time and you've only known her for two days." Virgil said and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "yea, there's just something about her that's drawing me to her and I'm helpless to stop it, not that I want to." Ulysses said then stood and walked around the room, "do you know she gave me a kiss on the cheek," Ulysses said and Virgil grinned at his friend. "Her lips are so soft and perfect and that kiss made my heart flutter. And then I asked her to fix you a plate of food and afterwards she gave me another kiss," Ulysses said and Virgil chuckled at his friend. "We're having dinner again tomorrow," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "that's good," Virgil said and Ulysses let out a breath and nodded then looked at his friend. "In the mornings I'll be fixing things around here and then after lunch I'll help you guys," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "It's planting season so there's a lot of work to be done," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded.

"I'm tired, I'll see you in the morning," Ulysses said of a sudden feeling tired and Virgil nodded, "I know the feeling and thanks for the food." Virgil said and Ulysses nodded, "no problem," he said then walked out of the door and went right next door to his room, where he stripped off his clothes and fell into the bed. He hugged his pillow and let out a breath as he thought about Xena and dosed off and his dreams were of Xena, a smile appearing on his face as he dreamed of her. When everyone was gone and the Inn was finally closed Xena, Cyrene and Corrinna cleaned up with help from Cynthia and then they all went to bed, Corrinna going to her house and Cynthia going to hers. Xena bid her mother a good night as she went into her room and Cyrene bid the same as she went into her room which was a door down across from Xena's room. Xena got ready for bed cutting the lantern in her room down before she got into bed. She turned on her side and looked at the flowers that her mother had placed in a beautiful vase and sat them on her night stand.

Lilies were her favorite flower and these were especially beautiful; a smile came to Xena's face as she thought about Ulysses and the good time they had at dinner. She had never had so much fun with someone, just talking to them about the things each of them liked to do. Then what surprised her the most, was that he liked her exactly the way she was, he didn't want her to change at all and that was what began to pull her in. She lay there and thought about Ulysses and their evening and what would happen tomorrow evening until she dosed off.

**Ithaca…**

"Marguerite," Julian called as he walked into Ulysses' bedroom and found his wife sitting on their son's bed. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to Marguerite, "hey," he said as he placed some of her hair behind her ear and she turned and looked at him her eyes red from crying. "It's been over two months and he hasn't even sent a letter or a message saying that he's alright. What if he's hurt or worse?" Marguerite said, "shh…shh you can't think like that my love." Julian said as he wrapped his arm around Marguerite then leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead and she closed her eyes as tears ran down her face and she hugged her husband. "I miss him so much and I'm worried about him. I just wish I knew if he was alright," she said and Julian nodded. "I know but I believe he is, Ulysses is strong and intelligent," Julian said and Marguerite let out a breath as she stood.

"What did we do to drive him away? To make him feel like his home was a prison?" Marguerite asked and Julian let out a breath. "I don't know Marguerite, I don't know. I don't think it was us, I think it was more me. He was upset with me, I was putting too much pressure and responsibilities on him, I wasn't listening to him." Julian said then stood and walked over to the window, "still he should have come to me, come to us and talked to us. Running away was not the solution," Julian said and Marguerite looked at her husband. "When will the search begin?" She asked and Julian let out a breath, "Ulysses was taught well, he knows that I'll send people looking for him. I'll give him another month, the further away he gets from Ithaca the more he'll relax and lax in keeping himself hidden." Julian said, "Where do you think he went?" Marguerite asked and Julian let out a breath as he turned and looked at his wife, "Macedonia or somewhere around that area. He and Virgil are drawn to big towns so maybe he went to Athens or Delphi to perhaps see the oracle there. I'm not entirely sure my love but all of those places will be checked even the smaller villages in case he decides to hide there.

We'll search coast to coast, harbor to harbor, our son will be found and whether he likes it or not he will return to Ithaca. He is needed here," Julian said and Marguerite looked at him. "If he is found and brought back home, you have to promise me that you won't be too hard on him, that you'll work with him." She said and Julian nodded, "I give you my word my love," he said and Marguerite nodded then hugged her husband. "Come lets gets some rest," Julian said and they left Ulysses' chambers, locking the door behind them and they headed to their rooms where they went to bed but they both couldn't help but lay there and think about their son.

**Amphipolis…**

Ulysses and Virgil had been in Amphipolis for a month now and they were both really enjoying themselves. Especially Ulysses who got to spend more and more time with Xena everyday and the relationship they had, which was to basically get to know each other, was moving slowly and that was fine with Ulysses, he definitely didn't want to rush anything for fear that he might mess this great thing up. Since the first dinner he had with Xena, they had been having dinner after that every night; Ulysses explored the area around Amphipolis and found that it did have some beautiful areas. There were a couple of times where he surprised Xena with picnics for lunch and they would go for a walk and talk until they got there, they had even progressed to holding hands but nothing went beyond a kiss on the cheek or a small caress here and there. Xena found herself having so much fun with Ulysses, he surprised her with picnics and going for walks and whatever they did they talked about any and everything. From the topic of fighting, to why the sky was blue. Sometimes they went for swims and went fishing which Xena really liked since she hadn't been fishing in a while.

They even sparred a couple of times and went for runs together; she had never known anyone like him, it was like they were becoming the best of friends and she liked it. He even sometimes bought flowers or picked flowers for her, giving them to her with little notes or sweet candy. Toris and Lyceus had even come to trust and like Ulysses and Virgil and they found having them around was a really big help, especially when it came to the fields. It was one particular day that things began to slowly change and their relationship began to grow. It was a beautiful summer day, the sky was so clear and blue, there was a nice breeze and the birds were singing in harmony with the rustling of the trees. It was around lunch time and Ulysses had taken Xena on a picnic and they were sitting on a blanket under a tree that provided them with shade for the sunny yet very beautiful day. They had been talking as they ate and when they were finished they lay down on their sides leaning on their elbows, with their heads propped up by their hands as they talked to each other.

They lay there in silence for a while as their fingers played with each other; Ulysses looked at Xena who had her eyes closed letting the sun shine down on her and the wind blow over her. _'Gods she is so beautiful, it's like the perfect picture of a goddess'_ Ulysses thought to himself. "Why are you staring at me?" Xena asked as she kept her eyes closed, "I can't help it, I'm in awe of your beauty," he said and she grinned as she opened her eyes and looked at him. He reached his hand out and caressed her cheek and she leaned into his touch which she had come to love. Ulysses looked into her eyes slowly feeling himself lean in and she looked into his eyes as well, "Xena can I kiss you?" He asked and she looked into his eyes, "yes," she said and he looked at her then down at her beautiful, full, pink lips. Xena swallowed hard as Ulysses' lips almost brushed against hers, "are you a good kisser?" She asked and he grinned, "you tell me," he said then softly brushed his lips against hers. He added a little pressure until the kiss was a soft tasting of lips and then he ended it.

"How was that?" He asked and she nodded, "again," she said and he grinned then leaned back in and kissed her. This kiss started off pretty much like the first but it slowly began to grow until it was a passionate tasting of lips and Xena was running her fingers through Ulysses' hair. "You're a great kisser," Ulysses said in between kisses and Xena grinned as she ran her finger over his cheek, "so are you," she said and as they lay there sharing soft, passionate tasting of lips, Xena began to experiment. She found herself sucking on Ulysses' lips and enjoying it, she especially enjoyed his moans and how his hand grasped her back. However Ulysses wasn't without having his effect on Xena, there were times when she moaned and whimpered from the kisses he gave her. They lay there for an hour kissing and didn't even realize it until they were interrupted. "Hey," Virgil said and they looked at him, "you guys are an hour late," Virgil said and they looked at him. "No, really?" Ulysses asked and Virgil nodded, "Cyrene needs you at the Inn Xena and we need to get going Ulysses."

Virgil said and they both nodded as they stood and gathered up their things, "I'll walk you back to the Inn," Ulysses said and Xena shook her head. "No you go a head to the fields, I'll be fine," she said and Ulysses nodded then leaned forward and kissed her softly. When the kiss ended they grinned at each other, "I'll see you later," Xena said and Ulysses nodded then watched as she walked away. He smiled and looked at Virgil who was grinning at him, "so I guess we're staying," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned. "You can leave if you want," Ulysses said as they began walking and Virgil shook his head. "No I like it here to this place really has a calming effect on you. Plus who would keep an eye on you if I left, you're always getting into trouble," Virgil said, "yea with your help," Ulysses said as he chuckled and Virgil smiled. "True," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned at his friend then slapped him on the back.

When evening came Ulysses, Virgil, Toris and Lyceus came in from the fields and got cleaned up for dinner. All four of them sat at the table with Xena who sat next to Ulysses and they talked. "You know you have the softest lips," Ulysses whispered in Xena's ear and she grinned as she turned and looked at him. She looked into his eyes as she brought her hand up to his cheek, her thumb winding up running over his lips and she grinned as he placed a kiss on it. "Kiss me," Ulysses said and she looked into his eyes then slowly leaned forward until their lips were touching. They shared the softest of kisses first and like earlier that day, they slowly began to develop. On lookers from the Inn as well as at the table, watched Xena and Ulysses, "guys," Lyceus called snapping them out of their own little world and they looked at him. "Get a room," Lyceus said with a grin and Xena grinned and blushed a little as she turned away from Ulysses who grinned. He was relaxed with his arm on the back of Xena's chair as he picked up his glass of wine and took a small gulp.

Every since that day, whenever Xena and Ulysses were left alone they always winded up kissing. Cyrene left Xena in the kitchen to go and talk to someone in the dinning area. "Psst," came from the door and Xena turned around and looked at Ulysses, "where's your mother?" He asked and Xena pointed to the door then grinned as Ulysses walked into the kitchen and over to Xena. "You are so dangerous," she said as she pointed a knife at him having been cutting vegetables and he grinned at her. "Are you going to stop me?"

He asked as he stood in front of her and he was so close as he wrapped his arms around her and she grinned at him, "why would I?" She asked then moaned as Ulysses kissed her; she placed the knife on the counter then ran her hands up Ulysses' arms where she held onto his upper arms loving the muscles there. "Mmmm," she moaned as Ulysses tasted her lips and he moaned at their sweetness. They kissed for about two minutes and then Xena grabbed Ulysses' cheek holding him as she pulled back. She looked into his eyes and grinned as she saw how much he wanted to kiss her and he grinned as he saw the same in her eyes.

Still holding him she leaned forward and kissed his lips softly then ran her tongue between them before she sucked on first the bottom one then the top one. Ulysses was beginning to breathe hard and Xena grinned as she kissed him passionately, both of them moaning. Five minutes later, Cyrene walked back into the kitchen to see Xena leaned back a little against the counter as she and Ulysses shared a passionate kiss. Cyrene cleared her throat and their kissing stopped and Xena turned and looked at her mother, "um…we were just," Xena said and Cyrene raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "I was cutting vegetables," Xena said and Cyrene nodded, "well I need those vegetables for the stew, which by the way you're supposed to be cooking." Cyrene said and Xena nodded then turned and looked at Ulysses, "we'll finish later," she said and he nodded then kissed her softly once more before he walked out of the back door. Xena turned back around and looked at her mother who was grinning, "is he a great kisser?"

She asked and Xena smiled, "the best," Xena said and Cyrene smiled and nodded then went about the kitchen doing things. "Xena can I ask you a question?" Cyrene asked and Xena looked at her mother, "must be a serious question for you to ask me that, usually you just ask." Xena said and Cyrene nodded, "are you finished with those vegetables?" Cyrene asked and Xena nodded, "yea," she said. "Then come help me peel these potatoes," Cyrene said and Xena nodded then walked over to the stove and added the vegetables she chopped up then walked over to the table and sat down and began peeping potatoes. "You and Ulysses are getting pretty serious," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her, "yea I guess," she said and Cyrene nodded. "Have you and he?" She asked and Xena looked at her trying to see what her mother was asking and when she realized what it was she shook her head. "No, I'm not ready for that yet," Xena said and her mother nodded. "Which brings me to what I really want to ask you," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her.

"Are you a virgin?" She asked and Xena let out a breath as she looked down at what she was doing, "yes and no," Xena said and Cyrene looked at her. "Xena I know something happen between you and the last guy you were seeing. What was his name? Graven? Garn?" Cyrene asked, "Gavin," Xena said then let out a breath. "His name was Gavin and I don't want to talk about what happened between me and him. All you need to know is that he hurt me bad, mentally and physically and Athena helped fix the damage. What happened between he and I was a mistake, I just realized it too late. Athena saw the pain I was in and she helped me, she restored my maidenhood and told me to choose more wisely next time." Xena said and Cyrene looked at her, "he didn't rape you did he?" Cyrene asked and Xena shook her head, "no, but it felt like it. I gave him consent but…" Xena said then shook her head and let out a breath. "I'm just not ready for my relationship with Ulysses to become that physical, for me to mentally and physically give myself to him."

Xena said and Cyrene nodded, "I understand but you should talk to him about it. Let him know how you're feeling," Cyrene said and Xena nodded. "I will," Xena said and Cyrene nodded then looked at Xena who stood and went to stir the stew, "mom," Xena called and Cyrene turned and looked at her daughter. "Thank you for not pushing me on the thing with Gavin, it's…its still hard for me to talk about, it still hurts." Xena said and Cyrene nodded, "but when you're ready to talk Xena I'm here," Cyrene said and Xena nodded. A couple of weeks passed and Xena and Ulysses were getting closer and closer, their kisses becoming more as they conveyed their feelings through them. It was a slow day at Inn so Cyrene went into town and did some shopping with Corrinna while Toris and Lyceus lounged around with Virgil keeping an eye on things. Xena and Ulysses were in Xena's room laying on her bed stomach to stomach as they shared soft, passionate, unhurried kisses. Xena felt like she needed to tell Ulysses what was on her mind before he got the wrong idea so she ended a kiss and looked at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked her as he looked into her eyes seeing that something was bothering her, "I'm not ready for sex yet," Xena said and Ulysses blinked. "Whoa that came out of no where," he said and Xena let out a breath as she sat up and Ulysses sat up and looked at her. "Xena I haven't been pressuring you have I? Because that hasn't been my intention if I have," Ulysses said and Xena shook her head. "No, I just wanted to let you know that I'm not ready to make love yet and I don't know when I will be." Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "alright," he said then looked into her eyes as he placed his hand on her cheek.

"We're in no rush, I'll wait Xena, if need be I'll wait forever," he said and she looked into his eyes. "Really?" She asked with a small grin and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "yea you mean that much to me," Ulysses said and Xena nodded then looked down. "I'm a virgin," she said in a low voice and Ulysses looked at her then raised her chin as he looked into her eyes. "That's all right," he said then caressed her cheek, "when you're ready you'll let me know. I swear I won't pressure you. To be honest, I'm not all that ready to make love yet either, things have been going so well between us and I don't want to ruin it in any way like doing something we're both not ready for."

Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "thank you," she said then hugged Ulysses and he hugged her back tightly. When the hug ended he lay down on his back and Xena lay in his arms with her head on his chest. "I feel so safe in your arms, safe, content, happy," Xena said and Ulysses grinned. "I'm glad I can make you feel those things," Ulysses said as he tightened his arms around Xena then placed a kiss on her forehead. Xena let out a breath and closed her eyes as she luxuriated in what she was feeling and before long she fell asleep. Ulysses grinned as he looked down at Xena then let out a breath as he pulled her closer then closed his own eyes and dosed off to sleep. Cyrene came back from the market she and Corrinna bringing bags into the house. "Where's your sister?" Cyrene asked her youngest son and Lyceus hunched his shoulder as he picked up an apple, "try her room but you might want to knock first."

Lyceus said and Cyrene looked at him; she walked down the stairs and went to Xena's room where she knocked on the door. Xena moaned and pushed into Ulysses but didn't wake up; Cyrene quietly opened the door and stuck her head in, what she saw made a smile come to her face. She closed the door and went back up to the kitchen, "they were so cute. Still fully dressed, they were asleep in each other's arms," Cyrene said and Corrinna grinned. It was an hour later when Xena woke up and she opened her eyes and looked around the room then up at Ulysses who was still asleep. She brought her hand up and caressed his cheek, her hand slowly coming down to his neck where she caressed his skin then leaned in and placed a kiss on his neck. _'Just because you're not ready for sex doesn't mean you can't try other things'_ Xena thought to herself as she kissed on Ulysses' neck _'there's nothing wrong with being curious'_ she told herself. "Mmmm," Ulysses moaned his arm tightening around Xena.

Xena found that she liked kissing on Ulysses' neck, she even tried sucking and she liked that too. She ran her hand over Ulysses' chest that wasn't covered by his shirt. "What are you doing?" Ulysses asked as Xena began to unbutton his shirt, "well I've never seen you up close and personal," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her as she sat up leaning on her elbow as she ran her hand over his chest, down to his six pack stomach. He rose up and placed a kiss on her neck that was calling to him and Xena closed her eyes as she felt Ulysses' lips on her neck. A shiver ran through her body as he kissed right below her ear then sucked on it a little. "Ah…mmmm," Xena moaned and Ulysses grinned. "You like that?" He whispered in her ear and Xena nodded then closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Ulysses took the invitation and lowered Xena down to the bed as he continued to kiss and suck on her neck. Xena moaned as she gripped Ulysses' arms and when she let herself relaxed her, legs wrapped around Ulysses' legs.

"Ulysses," Xena moaned as her hands gripped at his shirt and Ulysses moaned as he pushed into Xena, her skin tasting so good to him. Xena ran her hands under Ulysses' shirt and caressed his back and then her hands went down to his butt where she pulled him closer. Ulysses moaned then raised his head and looked at Xena before he leaned down and kissed her passionately. When the kiss ended they were both a little breathless, "we need to stop," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "Why?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her then pushed himself into her until there was a look of surprise on her face, "you feel that?" He asked and she looked at him and nodded, "is that?" She asked and Ulysses nodded, "yea and I stand by what I said earlier. We need to stop before we both do something we're gonna regret," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "Alright," Xena said and Ulysses nodded the raised up off of Xena and she watched as he stood and fastened his shirt.

Xena ran her fingers through her hair then stood and straightened her own clothes but she felt weird about basically a situation she started. "Ulysses…I'm sorry," she said and he turned and looked at her. "For what?" He asked and she looked at him then pointed to his lower half. "For leaving you in that condition," she said and he grinned at her as he walked up to her. "Xena it's alright I'll be fine," Ulysses said as he took Xena's hands into his as he moved closer to her. "It's just that I started the whole thing, I was just curious and…" Xena said then stopped as she looked at Ulysses. "That sounded stupid didn't it? I was just curious," Xena said then let out a breath. "Gods I'm so inexperienced," Xena said as she sat down on her bed and Ulysses grinned as he walked over and sat down next to her. "Its fine Xena, I don't care that you're curious it's a good way to learn." Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "I'm not totally inexperienced, I do know some things but when I'm around you I just can't help myself."

Xena said Ulysses grinned, "I'm the same way believe me, so to satisfy your curiosity, we can try whatever you want we just have to know when to stop." Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "you don't care that I'm a virgin do you?" Xena asked and Ulysses shook his head. "No, that just makes you more special to me and when we do finally make love it'll be a wonderful occasion." Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "let's go for a walk," she said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "Sure," he said and they stood and left the room, greeted Cyrene and the others who were in the kitchen and they left right out the back door. Xena smiled as Ulysses took her hand and they began walking and talking. Xena and Ulysses had known each other for over two months now but for them it seemed longer than that. Their relationship was real open, with them talking about everything except where Ulysses was from and who was training Xena, both afraid of the other's reaction so they kind of avoided the topic.

The people in the village could see that Ulysses and Xena were becoming serious and there were those who chose to make comments on their relationship. Most were people who were warning Ulysses about the type of woman Xena was, how many people she had slept with and it was this and that until Ulysses got tired of it. "Look, I don't mean to be rude but you guys are really small minded in this town." Ulysses said and the entire Inn went quiet since Ulysses was letting them all know he didn't need or want their opinions.

"So Xena isn't like your normal village girl, I find that to be a relief. She's exciting, intelligent and fun to be with, which you all would know if you would stop going around judging her because she doesn't fit into your perfect little world. So do me the favor and stop giving me warnings and advice because I don't need it and stop talking about Xena behind her back, she's a wonderful woman, it's just too bad that you can't see that." Ulysses said and he looked at all of them then walked out of the Inn and unbeknownst to him, Xena was standing by the kitchen door listening to all of what Ulysses said and her heart swelled with a feeling she didn't know but she loved it.

Ulysses walked for a bit as he thought about things then after a while he came back to the Inn and went up to his room where he relaxed for a bit. Then there was a knock at Ulysses' door, "yea," he called and the door opened and it was Xena. "Can I come in?" She asked and he nodded, "of course," he said as he sat up in the bed and Xena walked into the room closing the door behind her. "I um…I heard what you said at lunch," Xena said and Ulysses lowered his head, "I'm sorry about that Xena, they were just constantly talking to me about you and I just got tired of it. Especially when I know half of the things they were saying about you weren't true," Ulysses said and Xena nodded then walked over to the bed. "No one's ever really stood up for me before, besides my family and well…thank you. It really meant a lot to me," Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "it was my pleasure to tell those idiots off," Ulysses said and Xena grinned. "Xena there was something that one guy said that did stand out and you just tell me if it's true or not and I'll leave it alone."

Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "were you ever engaged to be married?" Ulysses asked and Xena let out a breath as she walked over to a window. "Yes," Xena said then let out a breath, "his name was Maphias and he and I were to be married but he thought he could change me, change my ways and when he saw that he couldn't, that I wasn't going to change for him and be the woman he wanted, he broke off our engagement." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "I'm sorry," he said and Xena hunched her shoulder, "its fine," she said and Ulysses shook his head. "No it's not, you should never have to change who you are to please someone else, especially not someone who is supposed to love you," Ulysses said as he got off the bed and walked over to Xena who looked at him. "That's how it is here, after that, men weren't interested in me or if they were it was just for sex. It's been three years since all of that happened and the villagers still talk about me behind my back, there are a few who have gotten to know me but not many."

Xena said, "That must hurt you a lot," Ulysses said as he caressed Xena's cheek and she leaned into his touch, "it used to but I just block it all out now. I know I'm meant for greater things and my training will help me do what I want and one day they'll see. They'll all see that I'm better than they are." Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes then down at her arm where he ran his fingers under the leather band on her arm. "Whose ever training you you're hiding their mark," Ulysses said as he looked into Xena's eyes and she nodded. "If they knew I would be more of an outcast," Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes then began pulling the band down but she stopped him. "Let me know Xena, I won't judge you," he said and she looked into his eyes as she pulled the band up. "I can't, not yet," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and nodded then turned to walk away but Xena grabbed his hand. "Please don't walk away," she said and Ulysses looked at her, "it's just… how can I expect you to be totally open with me, when I'm not totally open with you?

I know you want to know where I'm from, who I am and what I do but I'm afraid Xena." Ulysses said and she walked up to him, "afraid of what?" She asked and he looked into her eyes, "that I'll lose what I have with you. If you find out who I really am, I know you probably won't mean to but you'll judge me, you won't look at me the same." He said and she looked at him, "and I can't lose you I…" he said and she looked at him. "What? Please tell me," she said as she moved closer to him and he looked into her eyes, "I…I love you," he said then let out a breath and tears came to Xena's eyes as she moved closer to him placing her hands on the sides of his face. "I know you're wondering how, since we've only known each other a little over two months, but I do, I love you Xena." He said as he looked into her eyes and she grinned as she leaned her forehead against his, "I love you too. I didn't know it until you defended me. When I heard what you said, my heart just filled with this emotion that was foreign to me and I had no idea what it was until now."

She said then leaned in and they shared a soft passionate kiss and when the kiss ended they hugged each other and Ulysses closed his eyes. "You mean so much to me," he whispered to her then placed a kiss on her cheek and Xena just held him tight. Ulysses surprised her as he picked her up in his strong arms and carried her over to the bed; he laid her down in it then got in behind her spooning her. He scooted up close behind her wrapping his arms around her and she held his arms running her fingers over them.

**Macedonian City…**

"We should have started searching earlier," a soldier complained and the one in charge looked at him. "This is what the king wanted Davis, so stop complaining. We are only one amongst the groups King Julian has sent out to look for Prince Ulysses and Lord Virgil, I'm sure we won't be looking for long." He said, "yea right Eomer, you haven't hung around Ulysses that much but he and Virgil are a lot smarter than their parents give them credit for." One of the soldiers said and Eomer looked at him, "it doesn't matter, our orders are to find them and bring them back to Ithaca through any means necessary. So we'll be looking for them until we find them or until we get word that they have been found, we don't return to Ithaca unless we have them with us." Eomer said as he looked around at the twenty men he was in charge of, it would only be a matter of time before Ulysses and Virgil were found.

Their father's tapping into the many resources they had to find them, not to mention the king had half of the army out looking for Ulysses which Eomer thought wasn't the smartest thing since they were having some problems with a neighboring kingdom that looked like it could escalate to a war. Still he had his orders and he would find them, that was their mission. They had arrived in a Macedonian city, Eomer wasn't even sure what the name of it was but it was a small village and they did a sweep of it, finding that Ulysses wasn't there and there was no sign of him or Virgil so they would be heading to the next village. Eomer let out a breath as he looked at the map in his hands, since he was third in command with the army he was in charge of searching the Macedonian area and there were a lot of villages a lot of places where they could have went. "Let's move out," Eomer yelled figuring they had a lot of ground to cover so they might as well get started. They definitely had a lot of land to cover.

**Amphipolis…**

It was now three months since Xena and Ulysses had been together and their relationship was better than ever. Ulysses still fixed things around the Inn and helped out in the fields and Xena still helped her mother in the Inn when she wasn't training with Athena. Whatever free time they had, they spent it together talking, walking and their favorite pass time, kissing. In fact Xena and Ulysses had found themselves a niche in the Inn. It was a corner away from prying eyes where they often stood and kissed each other. "Xena, Xena," Toris called as he walked down the stairs where he turned his head and saw Xena and Ulysses lazily kissing and Toris rolled his eyes. "Xena," he called and the kiss ended and she looked at her brother while Ulysses just placed soft kisses on her cheek, chin and jaw making his way down to her neck. "Yea," Xena answered and Toris looked at her, "mother wants to know where you hid the honey," Toris said and Xena grinned. "She used it on her lips," Ulysses murmured and Xena smiled then kissed Ulysses.

"Xena come on, mom is trying to make those little pastries I like," Toris whined and Xena let out a breath as the kiss ended. "I'll be right back," she told Ulysses who nodded and watched her go up the stairs followed by Toris. "Finally, what did you do hide the honey?" Cyrene asked her daughter as Xena walked into the kitchen and went over to one of the cabinets, "according to Ulysses she used it on her lips," Toris said and Xena rolled her eyes at her brother then found the jar of honey and sat it down on the counter. "There," she said then turned and headed back down the stairs, she went to their spot and looked at Ulysses who was stooped down. "Finished?" He asked and Xena grinned and nodded as she leaned against the wall then crooked her finger at him telling him to come here. "There shouldn't be any more interruptions," she said as she grabbed his shirt pulling him to her and he grinned as he placed his hands on the wall, "good," he said then leaned in and kissed her softly.

"Mmmm," Xena moaned as Ulysses tasted her lips and in return she tasted his and they taste so good. She pulled on his shirt pulling him closer as the kiss slowly deepened. Ulysses moaned as the kiss deepened and his hands ran over Xena's back, his hand going under her shirt to caress her back. Xena moaned more from his touch than the kiss, "hold me tighter," she said in a breathless voice when she ended the kiss and Ulysses only returned to their kissing. He pulled her closer and she moaned as she ran her hands up his arm and then becoming bold which Ulysses loved, Xena pushed him against the wall and took control of the kiss. She had no clue about how much that turned him on but she had a clue when he caressed her back and his nails ran over the flesh of her back, causing her to let out a loud moan as she pushed into him. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes as they tried to catch their breaths, "we should go for a walk," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "you feel it too?"

He asked and she nodded, "yea but…" she started saying but Ulysses placed his finger against her lips, "I know," he said then leaned in and kissed her softly. When the kiss ended Ulysses looked at Xena, "let's go," he said and she grinned as she walked up the stairs and he followed behind her. "Oh you came up for air?" Cyrene asked her daughter with a grin on her face and Xena grinned at her, "we're going for a walk, we'll see you guys later," Xena said as she took Ulysses' hand and he grinned at them then walked out of the back door with Xena. They walked a ways from the Inn still holding hands as they walked in silence for a bit, "Ulysses have you ever made love to a woman before?" Xena asked and he looked at her, "I'm not talking about sex, where there's just release and maybe comfort after it. I'm talking about making love; slowly exploring each other's bodies, taking your time, letting the feelings build up within until you're exploding with love and pleasure." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "well when you say it like that, no I haven't."

He said then let out a breath, "Xena I've been with my share of women and some of the sex was good, some was great but I've never experienced what you're talking about." He said and Xena nodded, "have you?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned as she shook her head, "no, I guess I just imagined how it would be," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Have you imagined how our first time would be?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned, "I would be lying if I said I haven't," she said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "So how was I in this fantasy?" He asked and Xena laughed as she looked at him, "you were great, you were the perfect gentleman in every way." She said and Ulysses grinned as he looked into Xena's eyes, "you know when that time comes I will be. I will be gentle with you Xena," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "I know," she said and he stopped and looked at her, "do you? Because I sense from you that you're afraid, afraid that I'll hurt you mentally rather than physically."

Ulysses said and Xena looked at him then looked away as she let out a breath then walked over to a tree and sat down under it. Ulysses walked over to Xena and sat down next to her, "I'm not that man Xena," he said and she looked at him with surprise in her eyes. "I'm not that man who hurt you badly. You're afraid to give me your heart, to totally let me into your heart and that's because you've been hurt badly in the past. I'm not a saint Xena, I've done my own share of breaking hearts although I've tried not to. But I swear to you Xena, I love you and if you surrender your heart to me I will do right by it, by you. I promise you I won't hurt you, I won't break your heart, I love you too much," he said and Xena looked into his eyes then looked down and tears came to her eyes as she thought about what happened to her but she fought them back. Ulysses looked at her and tried to give her some space but he couldn't stand to see her in such pain, so he scooted closer to her putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to him so that she was leaning against his chest.

"Shhh…it'll be alright Xena I promise you," he whispered to her then placed a kiss on her forehead. "You believe me?" He asked and she nodded as she wiped below her nose, "then please tell me what happened. Let me try to erase that hurt," he said and she broke down a little more then looked into Ulysses' eyes. "If Athena couldn't erase this hurt what makes you think you can?" She asked and he looked into her eyes, "because I love you, now please tell me what happened." He said and Xena let out a breath, "his name was Gavin and he was the first guy to be interested in me after Maphias and I was interested in him. He talked to me and we spent time together, he seemed to really like me for who I was. Two months passed and I thought I was in love with him. When we went for a walk, he said he had a surprise for me so he took me to this cabin he had paid the owner for so that we could have it for a couple of days. When I got there it was romantic, dinner was on the table and there was only candle light."

Xena said then cleared her throat of emotion as she continued, "we had dinner, talked, drinked and laughed. Afterwards we lounged in front of the fire place and just kissed. He whispered to me that he wanted me and I thought since I was in love with him, and I had known him for a while, then it was okay to sleep with him. I was wrong, so wrong. I guess maybe he was moving too fast for me, it wasn't like I had pictured it would be; before I knew it, my clothes were off and so were his and I was on the bed and he was on top of me. Still he rushed, he didn't take the time to kiss my body, caress me or anything. I was young, I didn't know better and thought this was how it was supposed to be so I laid there and let him do what he wanted." Xena said then clenched her jaws as she thought about what happened, talking about this painful ordeal wasn't easy but she knew Ulysses needed an explanation for her fear. "When he entered me, he was so rough, he just pushed through it and it hurt so much. I screamed out in pain and began pushing at him. I remember thinking, I wanted that horrible pain to stop, I wanted it all to stop, for him to leave me alone."

Xena said then shook her head as she continued telling Ulysses what happened, "but he didn't stop until he was finished and that horrible pain was still there. All I remember is rolling on my side away from him and curling up into a ball holding my stomach wishing the pain would go away. He tried to touch me, to comfort me, maybe he thought the pain and bleeding was apart of a woman losing her virginity, he hadn't done anything wrong but I didn't want him to touch me, I didn't even want him near me. When the pain had eased up some, I went to take a shower and I remember sitting on the floor letting the water beat down on me as I cried, cried for something I wasn't ready for and something I would never get back." She said then let out a breath and looked at Ulysses who was caressing her hair and holding her hand and she just looked into his eyes. "I went home after that and stayed in my room for three days straight; Lyceus was the only one I've ever told what happened.

After that, I was never the same and I was sitting by the lake just thinking when Athena appeared before me. She told me she knew what happened and that she could help me. Of course I was suspicious," Xena said and Ulysses grinned at her. "She told me she was only there to help me and I believed her, there was something about her that said she didn't want to hurt me anymore than I already was hurting. She restored my maidenhood and mentally helped me work through it but what mostly helped was that I would be able to truly give myself to someone, when I truly felt in my heart it was the right thing to do. To know something so precious, as my virginity had been given back to me, that I had a second chance, well I wasn't going to mess it up." Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he caressed Xena's back, sometimes gently massaging her shoulders, hoping it would bring her some comfort as well as relax her. "Thank you for sharing that part of yourself with me. I know it wasn't easy," he said and Xena nodded then looked down for a moment, "I just thought it was something you needed to know.

You needed to know why I'm afraid, why I'm not ready to make love yet. It has nothing to do with you but with me," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "I understand and when you're ready Xena, let me know and I promise you, you and I making love will be all that we've both imagined." He said and Xena smiled at him, "I love you," she said and he grinned as he looked into her eyes then leaned in and kissed her softly but passionately. Xena moaned into the kiss as she brought her hand up to Ulysses' arm and held it as they shared a passionate kiss. When the kiss ended, Ulysses leaned back against the tree and Xena lay against his chest and Ulysses held her as he placed a kiss on her forehead. A week passed and it was after lunch and Xena was cleaning up the dinning area of the Inn when she heard a horse's loud, anxious, neighs outside. She walked over to the door and looked at the horse that was jumping up and down, as two stable hands tried to calm it. This was the most beautiful horse Xena had ever seen, she was a golden Palomino by the looks of it and Xena liked her spirit.

Xena sat the rag down on a table then walked out of the Inn and over to the horse, "be careful there miss, this horse is wild and untrained," one of the guys said but Xena paid him no mind. She walked up to the horse and held her hands up, "whoa, whoa," she said softly to the horse. "Take it easy girl, take it easy," Xena whispered as the horse continued to jump all about. Ulysses was coming back to the Inn to get something when he saw Xena with the horse and he watched as she walked up to it without fear and the horse began to calm. "That's it, that's it," she said in a calming voice, then looked into the horse's eyes as she brought her hands up to its face. "Yea," she said as she caressed her face and the horse neighed as it looked at her, "amazing," a man said and Xena turned her head and looked at him. "Who are you?" Xena asked, "her owner. Well for the moment any way, I'm headed to Sparta to sell her, maybe they'll have better luck training her." The man said, "I'm Orion by the way," he said as he held out his hand and Xena just turned her attention back to the horse.

"That's quite a talent you have," he said and Xena turned and looked at him, "you can't sell her to the Spartans, they're known for their cruelty to horses." Xena said and Orion hunched his shoulders, "not my problem, they've offered to pay good money for her and she's a pain." Orion said and Xena let out a breath as she turned back and looked at the horse, "she's not a pain, she's just misunderstood. Isn't that right girl?" She asked the horse as she continued to pat and stroke her and the horse nodded its head making Xena smile. "Well if you can afford to pay for her, she's yours," Orion said and Xena turned and looked at him. "How much?" She asked and he looked at her, "300 hundred dinars," he said and Xena let out a breath. "I haven't got half that," she said. "Then I guess she'll belong to the Spartans," he said and Xena let out a breath as she looked back at the horse. "Unless we can work out some sort of deal," Orion said as he ran his fingers through Xena's hair and she pushed him away from her. "In your dreams," she said then grabbed the rope they were using as a halter, "come on girl let's get you something to eat."

Xena said as she led the horse to the stable, Ulysses moving out of sight so that she didn't see him. "Come on let's get something to eat, I want to be out of this town before night fall." Orion said to his men and they walked into the Inn and Ulysses looked at them, then at Xena, who was leading the horse into the stable and an idea came into his head. Ulysses waited about ten minutes then followed Xena into the stable, once inside he saw her standing in the stall with the horse giving her a good brush down while she munched on some hay. "I see you've made a new friend," Ulysses said surprising Xena and she grinned as she looked at him then the horse. "Yea, isn't she beautiful?" Xena asked as she walked to the front and brushed its mane and the horse pushed into her and Xena smiled as she rubbed its nose. "She likes you," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "you think?" She asked and Ulysses nodded and watched as Xena took a carrot out of her pocket and fed it to the horse. "If I had the money, I would buy her but 300 hundred dinars is a lot," Xena said and Ulysses nodded.

"Well I'm not going to keep you from you're new friend, I just wanted to see what you were doing," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "The usual, boy I bet it would be a blast to ride her," Xena said as she looked into the horse's eyes and Ulysses grinned. "I bet it would," he said then turned and left the stable his mind now made up about what he was going to do. Ulysses walked into the Inn and found the guy that owned the horse and he walked over to him, "what can I do for you?" Orion asked as he ate his food and Ulysses stooped down and looked at him, "I want to discuss buying a horse from you," Ulysses said and Orion looked at him. "You want that horse the beautiful woman with the blue eyes was tending to," Orion said and Ulysses nodded. "She's your girl?" Orion asked and Ulysses grinned, "You could say that," he said and Orion nodded, "sorry about earlier, I didn't know she was taken." Orion said and Ulysses waved him off, "if I would have thought you were a threat, I would have intervened but then again Xena can take care of herself."

Ulysses said and Orion nodded as he grabbed his napkin and wiped his mouth, "I'm selling her to the Spartans for 400 hundred but I brought it down to three for her. You seem like an honest man so I'll do the same for you," Orion said and Ulysses nodded. "Deal, I'll have your money at the end of the day but I want this to remain between just us." Ulysses said and Orion nodded, "sure, fine, whatever, as long as I get my money." He said and Ulysses nodded, "you'll get your money," he said then stood and walked back out of the Inn where he headed to the fields. Night was falling and Ulysses had made it back to the Inn with the others and he went straight up to his room where he counted out 300 hundred dinars and placed the money in a sack. Since it was a surprise for Xena, he went out the front way and met Orion at the stable, "you've got the money?" Orion asked and Ulysses handed it to him then looked at the horse which they had taken out of the stable. "Ithaca huh?" Orion asked and Ulysses looked at him, "what did you say your name was?"

Orion asked and Ulysses walked up to the horse, "I didn't," he said and Orion hunched his shoulders. "Well it was nice doing business with you," Orion said. "Let's go boys, it looks like we don't have to make that long trip to Sparta," he said and he men nodded in agreement. Ulysses watched them go then looked at the horse, "come on girl, let's take you to your new owner. I know she'll be happy to see you," Ulysses said as he patted the horse's nose and the horse neighed and surprisingly didn't give Ulysses any trouble as he led it to the back of the Inn. "Where is Ulysses?" Xena asked as they sat in the kitchen at the table getting ready to eat, "don't know, he came in with us and after that…" Virgil said then hunched his shoulders and Xena was about to say something when there was some neighing outside. "Is that a horse?" Cyrene asked and Xena stood and walked over to the door where she saw Ulysses standing in the yard with the horse. "What did you do?" Xena asked as she walked outside and everyone followed her and Ulysses grinned as he looked at the horse.

"I bought you this horse," he said and Xena's eyes opened in surprise as did everyone else's, "you what?" She asked as she walked up to the horse who butted her and she grinned as she patted her. "I bought her for you; I could tell that you really liked her and you said if you had the money you would buy her. Well I had the money and I decided to buy her for you," he said and Xena looked at him, "but Ulysses that was 300 hundred dinars," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Yea and she better be worth every last one," Ulysses said as he looked at the horse and Xena looked at him. "Why would you do something like this?" She asked and he looked into her eyes, "just to see you happy, to see you smile," he said and she grinned then walked over to him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said and she laughed as Ulysses spun her around then placed her on her feet. "You're welcome," he said when they pulled back some and she looked into his eyes then leaned in and kissed him softly but passionately.

"I love you," Xena said and Ulysses smiled, "I love you too," he said and she grinned as she turned around and looked at the horse. "I can't believe it, she's mine," Xena said as she walked over to the horse. "That's wonderful dear, now get that animal out of my yard before it leaves a deposit," Cyrene said and Xena grinned as she grabbed the rope and lead her back to the stable. "Well done Ulysses," Virgil said as he slapped his friend on the back and Ulysses looked at him, "you think so?" Ulysses asked and Virgil grinned, "did you see how happy she was?" He asked and Ulysses grinned, "that's why I did it," he said and Virgil nodded. "You do know there's a possibility that the money will lead them to us?" Virgil asked and Ulysses looked at his friend and nodded. "Yea but it was chance I was willing to take to see her happy, I love her," Ulysses said and Virgil looked into his friends eyes. "You really do," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded, "well all we can do is hope that they don't find us but I think you and I know how highly unlikely that is."

Virgil said and Ulysses nodded, "I know but I just want to be happy a while longer. We should have at least four more months before they find us. We took the back way; the front way has a lot more large towns and villages, they'll have to search them first." Ulysses said and Virgil grinned, "that's why we came that way?" Virgil said and Ulysses grinned, "of course, come now Virgil I always had a plan," Ulysses said as he put his arm around his friend and they walked into the Inn where they sat down at the table and ate dinner. The rest of Xena's evening was spent fixing up a stall for the horse, giving her water and making sure she was fed and brushed down. She walked out and closed the gate to the stall and looked at the mare who looked back at her. "What shout I call you?" Xena asked the horse as she reached out and rubbed its neck and Xena stood there and thought about a name. "How about Argo? You like that?" She asked and Argo neighed as she bobbed her head up and down in approval.

"Argo it is then," she said then patted the horse for a while longer, "I'll see you in the morning Argo," Xena said then turned and walked out of the stable closing the door behind her. She walked into the kitchen, where she sat down and ate her cold dinner. "That was a very nice thing Ulysses did," Cyrene said and Xena grinned and nodded, "yes it was. Can you believe it? He did it just to see me happy," Xena said and Cyrene nodded as she wiped a glass then put it away. "He cares a lot about you," she said and Xena looked at her mother. "He loves me momma," she said and Cyrene looked at her daughter, "how do you know that Xena?" She asked as she walked over to the table and sat down, "he's told me so but it's not only that. I see it in his eyes, especially when he looks at me, I feel it in his touch, hear it in his words and I definitely feel it in his kiss." She said and Cyrene nodded, "and do you love him?" She asked her daughter and Xena looked at her mother, "I do," she said then chuckled. "I know it's crazy, we've only known each other for three months but I love him mom, I love him," Xena said and Cyrene looked into her daughter's eyes and saw there that she was indeed in love with Ulysses.

"I see," she said and Xena grinned then looked down as she continued eating, "Xena I want to tell you something," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her. "Tell me what?" Xena asked and Cyrene let out a breath, "it's about me and Corrinna," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her. "We're together, we're a couple," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her as if she hadn't told her anything she hadn't already known. "So what's new?" Xena asked and Cyrene looked at her daughter, "I…you knew?" She asked and Xena grinned, "been knew and I'm fine with it." Xena said and Cyrene looked at her daughter and nodded. "Okay," she said then sat there and let that sink in, "do your brothers know?" Cyrene asked and Xena looked at her mother and raised an eyebrow, "you and Corrinna could be standing in the kitchen kissing and they wouldn't know." Xena said and Cyrene nodded then let out a breath. "I'll tell them later," she said and Xena hunched her shoulders, "I don't think they would care. The town on the other hand," Xena said and Cyrene nodded.

"I know," she said then stood and went back over to the counter where she continued to dry dishes, "where do you think he got the money from, to buy that horse?" Cyrene asked and Xena hunched her shoulders. "I don't know; he told me that back where he's from his father was a powerful man so I'm guessing they had money." Xena said and Cyrene nodded, "I wonder why he's hiding where's he's from," Cyrene said and Xena stood with her empty plate in her hand bringing it over to the sink. "He's afraid that if he tells us who he is and where he's from, we'll see him differently." Xena said and Cyrene thought about that and she and Xena cleaned up the kitchen. When the Inn was closed and everything was locked up Cyrene went to bed but Xena went up to Ulysses' room. She knocked on the door and it took him a minute to answer it; when he opened the door he was wearing his pajama pants and no shirt.

"Hey," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "hey," he said, "can I come in?" She asked and he nodded as he opened the door and Xena walked in and he closed the door behind her. "Is something wrong?" He asked as he walked up to her and she turned and looked at him, "no, everything's perfect," she said as she moved closer to him running her hands over his chest. "I wanted to thank you for Argo," Xena said and he looked at her, "who?" He asked, "the horse," Xena said and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "so you've named her." Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded then leaned in and kissed Ulysses softly but passionately, and slowly the kiss began to deepen. Ulysses moaned as Xena wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer. They stood there and kissed for a while and then Xena started walking backwards towards the bed pulling Ulysses with her, the kiss never ending. She laid down on the bed and held her hand out to Ulysses, who looked into her eyes as he took it, then got into the bed placing his body over hers.

He leaned down and kissed her passionately but the kiss was slow and exploring and when it ended they were both a little breathless as they looked into each other's eyes. "This isn't why I got you the horse, not for you to thank me this way," he said and Xena nodded. "I know but I want this," she said then sat up some and looked into Ulysses' eyes as she grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head. She held it to her chest and Ulysses looked into her eyes as he leaned in and kissed her, his hand holding the side of her neck as he tasted her lips. Xena moaned as she ran her free hand through Ulysses' hair and he slowly lowered her down to the bed, taking her hand that was holding the shirt to her chest away and Xena dropped the shirt to the floor. She ran her hand up Ulysses' arm as her breasts pressed into his chest and they moaned, both from the feeling. Ulysses took his time as not to scare Xena and they just lay there for a while kissing and sharing soft caresses.

Ulysses lay between Xena's legs which were raised, bent at the knee and when the kiss ended he started kissing and sucking on her neck. As he did so his hand caressed her foot taking the sandal off and he slowly ran his hand up her leg to her thigh, where he pushed her dress up. Xena's breathing began to pick up especially when she felt Ulysses' hand on her thigh caressing her and his kisses began to move down. She opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling and all of a sudden she felt like she couldn't breathe, she was scared. "Stop," she said and Ulysses raised his head and looked at her, "are you okay?" He asked and she shook her head as she pushed at his arms wanting him off of her, feeling like she was suffocating, so he rose up off of her and she quickly sat up. Ulysses could see she was breathing hard and he got off of the bed and poured her a glass of water while she grabbed her shirt from the floor and put it on. He walked over to her and sat down on the bed, "take a couple of deep breaths," he told her and she nodded as she did what he said.

When her breathing calmed, he handed her the glass of water and she took a deep gulp of the water, "are you alright?" He asked her as he caressed her hair and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened," she said and Ulysses looked at her, "it's alright," he said as he placed a lock of hair behind her ear then caressed her cheek. "I should go," she said as she stood placing the cup on the night stand and she walked over to the door. "Xena," Ulysses said as he stood and grabbed her hand, she turned and looked at him and he could see the tears in her eyes. "Come here," he said as he pulled her to him and he hugged her tight. "Hold on to me as tight as you want, I'm not going anywhere," he said and Xena leaned her head into his shoulder as she shed a few tears for the pain she was feeling and the comfort he was giving her. She held onto him tightly and just let him hold her; after a few minutes she turned her head to the side and let out a breath. "I'm afraid for you to make love to me and I don't know why," she said.

"Shh…it's alright, it's going to be all right," he said as he caressed her hair then after a few minutes he pulled back and placed a kiss on her forehead then looked at her as he held her face his fingers wiping away the traces of her tears. "Maybe you're not as ready as you think you are," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "Maybe but you've got to be tired of waiting, I know I am," she said and Ulysses grinned at her. "I told you once Xena and I'll tell you again, I'll wait, I'll forever. And you may be tired of waiting but your heart may not be at that place where your mind is or vise versa." Ulysses said and she looked at him, "how can that be when I know I love you, I know it, I feel it," she said and Ulysses grinned. "That may be but your heart may need more time, Xena unconsciously you're throwing up walls around your heart because you were hurt badly before and you're afraid that'll happen again. It's understandable but until you can stop throwing up those walls until you can lower them for me you can never truly know the love you say you have for me.

Your heart doesn't know that love because you're afraid to let it know it so your heart is telling you you're not ready for us to make love because we aren't in love." Ulysses said as he caressed Xena's cheek and he looked into his eyes and she looked into his. "Can you lower those walls for me Xena?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked into his eye, "I want to, I do," she said and Ulysses grinned. "It's alright when it comes to matters of the heart it takes time and as I said before I'm willing to wait." Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "I should go," she said and Ulysses nodded then leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Are you sure you're alright?"

He asked her and she grinned and nodded, "I'll see you in the morning," Xena said then turned and left the room closing the door behind her. Xena rushed down to her room closing the door behind her; she sat down on the bed and thought about what Ulysses said then started crying. Her hands gripped the sides of the bed as she leaned forward and turned her head to the side as tears ran down her face for the fear she felt. After a couple of minutes she pulled herself together and got ready for bed then laid down and stared at the wall as she thought about what Ulysses told her.

**Continued in**

**Chapter Four: The First Fight**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. There are just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played. So the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. lol If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if its too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination.

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together. There is no more violence than your regular Xena episode.

**Chapter Four: The First Fight**

The next few days that passed Xena wasn't really herself; not talking like she usually did, when Ulysses tried to kiss her she turned so that he kissed her cheek instead. She spent most of her time with Argo than she did with Ulysses and it had been three days now since she started doing that and he almost regretted buying her that horse. She did more talking to the horse than she did to Ulysses and that hurt him. On the fourth day Ulysses decided to confront Xena and when he did she was in the stable sitting on the floor next to Argo's stall. "Xena," Ulysses called and she raised her head and looked at him, "we need to talk," he said. "About what?" She asked and he let out a breath, "I think you know about what. You've been cold and distant these past few days and I want to know why. Is there something I've done?" He asked and she stood and let out a breath, "no I just need some time to myself."

She said and he looked at her, "please don't lie to me. I know that's not all," he said and she spun and looked at him, "look, this is my life, I'll live it how I want." She said and he nodded, "and that's fine but I don't deserve the way you've been treating me. Why don't you tell me what's wrong," he said and she let out a breath. "Because I don't want to and why do you have to be so damn understanding all the time? Why can't you be like other men and pressure me to have sex?" She asked and he looked at her, "is that what this is about? The other night, when YOU asked me to stop and I did.

You would have rather I pushed you and pressured you until what happened to you before, happened again?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him, "maybe," she said and he let out a breath as he shook his head. "You're not making sense," he said and she hunched her shoulders at him, "it's who I am, if you don't like it then leave." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "oh I see," Ulysses said as he looked at Xena. "When you can't fix a problem you blame it on the other person and then you push them away," Ulysses said as he walked up to Xena and she looked at him.

"You are my problem and you know what, I want you to leave, leave this stable, my mother's Inn and leave my town. Leave me alone," she yelled at him then turned away but he grabbed her arm and walked up to her. "You think it's that easy for me to walk away. I love you Xena, more than I've loved anyone in my entire life, I want you to be with me, why are you pushing me away?" He asked and she looked at him then pulled her arm free, "because I'm tired, I'm tired of you and I'm tired of this relationship." Ulysses looked at her and he wasn't going to let it be like this, he wasn't going to let it end like this and they winded up arguing back and forth, getting loud with it, until Lyceus walked into the stable. "What in the world is going on?" He asked, "Your sister is acting like an idiot," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him then punched him hard _'why is it when someone's mad at me they hit me'_ he asked himself. _'God's that hurt'_ he thought to himself as he moved his jaw around.

"Xena what in the world is wrong with you?" Lyceus asked her and she looked at him then at Ulysses who looked at her, "did that make you feel better? Will beating up on me make you feel better about the fact that you're confused and you're driving me away because you don't want to have to deal with your feelings?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him and he looked at her then shook his head, "you're not the woman I thought you were," he said then walked out of the stables and when the door closed Xena sank to the floor. "What did I do?"

She asked herself and Lyceus walked over to her and stooped down next to her, "I hate to be blunt but you're pushing the man you love away." He said and Xena let out a breath, "and may I ask why?" Lyceus asked and Xena shook her head, "I can't be with him," Xena said, "why?" Lyceus asked, "Because my heart won't let me be with him." Xena said then looked at her brother with tears in her eyes and she leaned her head on his shoulder, "I'm gonna always be alone," she said and Lyceus wrapped his arm around her. "That's not true Xena, you have a man that loves you very much and I know you love him."

Lyceus said and Xena nodded, "I do, I really do but maybe we aren't meant to be together. I want so much to let him into my heart, to truly know the love I believe I have for him but no matter how hard I try, these walls that I keep around my heart won't lower for him and I don't know why. And it hurts Ly, it really hurts," Xena said and her brother just held her as she cried into his shoulder. "What happened to you?" Virgil asked as Ulysses stormed into the kitchen, "we're leaving," he said and Toris, Cyrene and Corrinna all looked at him. "What?" Virgil asked, "we're leaving," Ulysses said and Virgil walked up to his friend grabbing his arm. "Will you calm down and tell me what happened," Virgil said and Ulysses let out a breath. "I can't tell you what happened because I don't know what happened. She just picked a fight with me and we started arguing. She says she's tired of me, tired of our relationship and she wants me to leave," Ulysses said and Cyrene looked at him. "Ulysses both you and Xena need to calm down, I'm sure she didn't mean it," Cyrene said and Ulysses let out a breath as he sat down at the table.

"I left home to find happiness; I just knew it was out there waiting for me to grasp it. I thought I found it in the love I have for Xena, the love she has for me. But I was wrong," he said then ran his fingers through his hair, "I've abandoned my family for a happiness I will never find," Ulysses said then looked up as the door opened and Xena and Lyceus walked into the kitchen. Ulysses stood and walked out of the kitchen heading up to his room, "Xena what…" Cyrene started to ask her daughter, "not now mom," Lyceus said and they watched as Xena headed downstairs to her own room where she closed the door and sat on her bed as she thought about what she had just done. Three days passed and both Xena and Ulysses were extremely miserable, they didn't know they could hurt so badly. Ulysses kept himself busy by working himself into exhaustion in the fields and Xena stayed busy around the Inn and training Argo. She also found herself training and exercising, even when she didn't have training with Athena.

On the fourth day, she took a walk by the river as she thought and she was really missing Ulysses but maybe this was the way things had to be. "Why do you drive away what makes you happiest?" Athena asked as she appeared before Xena and she looked at her. "Because I can't love him," Xena said and Athena shook her head. "I don't believe that and neither do you," Athena said and Xena let out a breath as she started walking. "STOP and look at ME," Athena yelled and Xena stopped and after a minute she turned and looked at Athena. "Do you remember Xena, months ago you were feeling empty and alone, like you were missing something important. Do you remember that you stood there and looked at me with tears of frustration in your eyes?" Athena asked and Xena nodded, "yes," she said and Athena walked up to her. "Have you ever paid attention to the fact that since you've known Ulysses those feeling have gone away?" Athena asked and Xena looked at her, "what?" She asked beginning to see what Athena was saying, "I promised you that what your heart, what your soul was yearning for would come soon and it did.

I also told you that you wouldn't recognize it right away," Athena said and Xena looked at her. "You're telling me that…" Xena started to say and Athena nodded. "Yes, yes Xena. He is what you have been looking for, you are what he has been looking for." Athena said and Xena looked at her, "why are you pushing him away?" Athena asked and Xena looked at her, "my heart…won't let me love him," Xena said and Athena looked at her. "Because you're stopping it. Whatever you're afraid of, whatever fear it is that you're holding, let it go," Athena said and Xena looked at her. "I can't," she said tears rolling down her cheek and Athena looked at her, "take my hand Xena," Athena said and Xena looked at the goddess then stepped forward and placed her hand in Athena's and soon she felt the world swirl away like she often did when Athena transported her somewhere. "Where are we?" Xena asked as she looked around the huge temple, "the hall of destiny," Athena said and Xena turned and looked at Athena who was walking over to where three women were and she followed Athena.

"Are those the fates?" Xena asked and Athena looked at her, "mortals aren't usually allowed here but when I have a mortal on my hands whose as stubborn as you are, I have to show them a little of what they won't see." Athena said then walked closer to the tapestry of life and looked at it until she found Xena's thread, "here Xena is your thread," Athena said as she pointed to the deep red thread and Xena looked at it. "Very thick, very strong, long and bright; all signs that you have a strong, magnificent and long life ahead of you." Athena said, "now look right below your line," Athena said and Xena looked below her line to see a deep green line, "touch it," Athena said and Xena looked at her then at the line. She slowly reached her hand out and when she closed her fingers around it she felt so much and that feeling was so familiar, like it was herself, "this…this is Ulysses," Xena said and Athena nodded. "Follow the line Xena," Athena said and Xena followed the line and the further she moved down she saw that her line and Ulysses' line began to intertwine around each other.

She touched their lines and her mouth and eyes opened in surprise as she felt the connection, the extreme amount of love they had for each other. A tear fell from each eye and Athena took Xena's hand from the thread and looked at the young woman who would be her best chosen yet. "Do you see now Xena? You're fighting something that doesn't need to be fought," Athena said then stepped closer to Xena placing her hands on Xena's face as she looked into her eyes and Xena looked into Athena's eyes.

"You and he are meant to be, it's as simple as that," Athena said and Xena looked at Athena then shook her head as she swallowed hard then walked away to a window where she looked out at the bright, beautiful country then placed her hands on the glass as she leaned her head forward. "I'm so confused Athena, there's so much love in my heart for Ulysses but there is also fear. Fear that he'll hurt me," Xena said and Athena looked at Xena as she walked up to her. "That's not the fear that's controlling you. You're a strong woman Xena, even if you were to get hurt, even if your heart were to be broken again, it would undeniable hurt yes, but you would get through it and come out for the better, stronger."

Athena said and she now stood by Xena's side and Xena turned her head and looked at the goddess, "what is it that I fear then?" Xena asked and Athena looked into her eyes, "you tell me." Athena said and Xena stood there and looked out of the window as she thought about that, "ask yourself why you won't let him into your heart? What are you really afraid of?" Athena said and Xena stood there and thought about that; she thought about all of the wonderful things Ulysses made her feel yet when she felt herself become closer and closer to him she threw up those walls, keeping him out, keeping her away from her heart. "I'm afraid that if I let him into my heart, then I'll really love him and I know if we make love I'll give him my heart; the thought of loving him completely and utterly scares me. Because if we were to get so close, then have something happen to him or it turns out we don't make it…" Xena said then looked at Athena with pain in her eyes. "I won't make it Athena, I won't survive."

Xena said and Athena looked into her eyes then stepped forward and took Xena's hand holding it in her own. "Xena don't you see that despite your best attempts Ulysses has found a crack in those walls you throw up and he has already wriggled his way into your heart?" Athena asked and Xena looked at her, "that's why you feel the pain you feel in your heart. You and Ulysses are already bound so tightly, he's hurting just like you're hurting," Athena said and Xena shook her head. "I don't think he feels like this," Xena said and Athena looked at Xena then waved her hand over the window and Xena found herself looking at Ulysses who was sitting on the bed in his room in the Inn with one knee drawn up and the other stretched out; his elbow rested on his raised knee, his forehead leaning against his hand and when he turned his face slightly Xena could see that his cheeks were wet. "He is hurting like you're hurting Xena, he has the same fears you have but he's just not as stubborn as you. He realizes what he has with you and he was trying to make it work," Athena said then waved her hand so that the portal was gone.

"Now it's your turn to realize what you and he have and make it work; Xena as a warrior you've already learned that you can't let fear control you, that if you do, it could be the end of you and possibly the end of those you love, of things that mean the most to you. Take the same way in love, embrace that fear, don't let it control you. People think that a hero is someone who risks their life for someone else's life or for the greater good and that is true, but the greatest hero there is, is a person who risks their heart. They risk their heart despite what the outcome may be, that right there is a true hero." Athena said and Xena looked at her, "any fool can risk his life but it takes a hero to risk his heart," Xena said and Athena nodded. "Exactly," Athena said and Xena looked at her then looked back out of the window as she thought about things. "You know Xena, you don't have to defeat that fear in one day, take steps and you'll find that one day that fear won't be as strong and you'll conquer it without even thinking about it."

Athena said and Xena nodded then let out a breath, "I never thought of it that way," Xena said then let out a breath. "I hurt him bad with my words," Xena said and Athena looked at her. "I'll take your advice but I need your help with something that'll help me make it up to Ulysses," Xena said and Athena looked at her. "Alright but as long as it's not anything outrageous," Athena said and Xena grinned. "I promise you its not," she said and Athena nodded and then they were both gone in golden sparkles. Back at the Inn Ulysses still sat in his room on his bed; he didn't know what Xena had done to him, he was sitting there and tears had just started rolling down his face. He wiped his face dry then let out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair, "love sucks," Ulysses said to himself as he thought about the argument he and Xena had. He thought about it over and over again, he even went back in his mind days before that to see if there was anything he could have done to make her react that way.

He couldn't find anything and that just frustrated him, he wanted so badly to fix things with Xena, he loved her so much he didn't even know it was possible to love someone this much and so fast. They had only known each other for about four months and he was deeply in love with Xena and he thought she was with him, but it turned out he was wrong or so he thought. Ulysses ran his hands over his face up to his hair where he had the urge to just want to pull his hair out in frustration _'uh…why does being in love have to be so damn complicated? I mean it was going slowly, I was being a gentle man or at least I thought so. I didn't pressure her for sex or even for our first kiss and still things have just fallen apart. Damn it, I bought her a horse. I risked being found out where I am and all for her, all just to see her happy'_ Ulysses thought to himself then let out a breath as he looked out of the window. _'All I want is her to be happy, for us to be together'_ he thought to himself and he continued to think until he was startled out of his thoughts by a knock at the door.

He wanted to ignore it, he wanted to be left alone but he knew it was probably Virgil, who was worried about him. There was another knock and Ulysses let out a breath, "yea," he called and when the door opened Xena walked it with something large in her hands. She sat what she was holding down by the door against the wall and looked at Ulysses who was looking out of the window, "hi," she said and he turned his head and looked at her in surprise. "Hey," he said, "is it okay if I come in?" Xena asked as she looked at him and he swallowed as he nodded his head, "yea, yea," he said as he sat up straight in the bed. She walked into the room closing the door behind her then walked over to the bed and stood by the bed post as she looked at Ulysses. "I uh…I wanted to apologize for the way I've been treating you," she said then let out a breath as she looked down for a moment trying to gather her thoughts. "I'm sorry Ulysses," Xena said as she raised her head and looked at him, looked into his eyes, "I know I said some hurtful things to you and I had no right, truth is I didn't even mean any of it."

Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "then why did you say them?" He asked and she let out a breath as she walked a little closer up to him, "because I was…I am afraid," Xena said. "It's taken me a while to admit that," Xena said with a small grin and Ulysses looked at her, "what are you afraid of? Is it me? I swear to you Xena, I would never hurt you," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "I know and you can keep saying it but my heart has to believe it and having been broken already, it's going to take some heavy convincing." Xena said then let out a breath, "but that's not what's stopping me from being with you. It's not the fear that made me pick a fight with you," Xena said then let out a breath as she looked at Ulysses who was looking straight into her eyes, begging her for an explanation. Xena let out a breath as she moved closer to Ulysses then sat down side ways on the bed and looked down for a moment before she looked up at Ulysses, looking him straight in his eyes. "Ulysses I'm in love with you and…" Xena said then closed her eyes and let out a breath as she prepared to tell him her worst fear.

Ulysses looked at Xena and could tell she was having problems telling him what she was truly afraid of and he couldn't help himself as he reached out his hand and placed her hair behind her ear then placed his hand on her cheek and she couldn't help as she leaned into it. "I love you so much," she said as she placed her hand on top of his then turned her face so that she placed a kiss on his palm and he looked at her. "This love scares me because it's already so strong and we've only known each other for about four months and what I'm really afraid of, is that this love will become stronger. That when we do finally make love I'll give you my heart and you'll give me yours, there will be no going back from that Ulysses. And what if we don't make it? Or what if something happens to either one of us? I don't…I don't think I would survive it, I love you that much and it scares me." Xena said then let out a breath as she held Ulysses' hand in her own and looked into his eyes as he looked into hers. "The closer we got, the more that fear started to take over and control me, that's why I picked that fight with you, that's why I hit you.

I was hoping you would back up and take another look at me and truly see if I was worth it, if you wanted to go through all that trouble. It was a way for me to escape and a way for you," Xena said and Ulysses looked at Xena. "I'm not one to give up easily Xena," Ulysses said and she nodded. "I just wished you would have come to talk to me about your fears," he said and Xena looked at him. "I just did find out today what I was truly afraid of and I'm sorry Ulysses, I'm so sorry that I put you through all of this, that I hurt you the way I did." Xena said then looked into Ulysses' eyes and before she knew it she climbed into the bed and over to Ulysses where she hugged him tightly. "Please forgive me," she said as she hugged him tightly and Ulysses closed his eyes and hugged her tightly, pulling her tightly to him as he inhaled her wonderful scent. "I love you," Xena whispered in Ulysses' ear as she grasped his hair and Ulysses just closed his eyes tightly as he continued to hold Xena, "I love you too," he whispered then placed a soft kiss on her neck. They hugged for a while longer and when they finally pulled back it wasn't much and Xena placed her hands on Ulysses' face her thumb wiping away the stray tear that ran down his cheek.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you so much but I want us to be together, I just need you to work with me, continuing to take it slowly, step by step so that I can conquer my fears." Xena said then looked deep into Ulysses' eyes, "and then I'll finally be able to give myself to you," Xena said then began leaning in. "Body, heart and soul," she whispered to Ulysses just before they kissed and his moan of pleasure was louder than her own. As they shared a passionate tasting of lips, Xena caressed Ulysses' face, her hands running up his neck to his hair where she gripped it tightly and pulled his mouth down closer to hers. Ulysses had his hands on Xena's back and as she pulled him closer, he slowly lowered her down to the bed; this kiss deepened and Xena moaned as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair and when the kiss ended they looked deeply into each other's eyes. "I'm sorry also that I said some hurtful things," Ulysses said and Xena shook her head, "it doesn't matter. Let's just put it all behind us and promise never to fight again. It hurts too much," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he leaned his forehead against Xena's, "yes it does, I've never known pain like that before and I don't care to experience it again."

Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she caressed his cheeks, "did you miss me?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded as he looked into her eyes and his fingers ran through her hair. "I did, very much so," he said and Xena grinned as she raised her head and kissed him softly and he returned the kiss. "I missed you too," she said as she looked at him and he grinned, "especially looking into these sexy brown eyes," she said and he smiled at that. "My eyes don't compare to yours; those beautiful blue eyes of yours. Sometimes they're as clear as the blue sky, when you're angry they're dark, cold and stormy," Ulysses said then brought up his hand and ran his finger right by her eye as he looked into them. "And then there are moments like this when you look at me with the love you have for me and your eyes are so blue, so deep like the ocean and I could fall into them and often do." Ulysses said as he ran his fingers down her cheek and she grinned at him, "you are so beautiful Xena, gorgeous."

He said then smiled and chuckled, "what?" Xena asked with a grin on her face, "I um…when I first saw you, when we bumped into each other in the market, I uh…I thought you were a goddess." He said with a smile and Xena smiled at him, "really?" She asked and Ulysses nodded as he lay down on his side and Xena turned on her side and faced him, "yea. You probably think that I just tell you you're beautiful because that's what every girl likes to hear but…" Ulysses said then shook his head as he looked at her. "You are gorgeous, the most magnificent creature the gods have put on this earth," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she shook her head and looked down because she was blushing. Ulysses grinned at her then leaned his head down and stole a sweet, soft kiss and when it ended they looked into each other's eyes. "That day Xena, I truly thought you were a goddess, I'm not even lying, you can ask Virgil; you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and it was like you were glowing. Then when I looked into your eyes and just fell into them and gods when you spoke to me…" Ulysses said then shook his head and she looked at him.

"What?" She asked all wrapped up in what he was saying and he looked at her, "you stole my heart at that very moment. It was then that I knew I had to find out who you were, I had to talk to you again and get to know you." Ulysses said and Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes then leaned in and kissed him softly and they just lay there and kissed softly for a while. "I love you so much," Xena said as she looked into Ulysses' eyes and he looked into hers, "I know sometimes I may make it hard for us but please just bear with me. I really do want us to be together," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as his fingers intertwined with hers and he brought their hands up so that he could kiss the back of Xena's hand. "So do I and we will be, I promise you that," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes seeing so much love for her in them; she couldn't help herself as she leaned in and kissed him and they just lay in the bed sharing soft passionate tasting of lips and some deep passionate kisses.

They lay on the bed close together chest pressed against chest, their legs in between each others and their arms were wrapped around each other. Xena ran her hand under Ulysses' shirt caressing his back and Ulysses moaned at her touch and she pulled him closer to her. As they continued to kiss, Xena reached her hand behind her and pulled her shirt out of her skirt then grabbed Ulysses' hand placing it under her shirt on her back. "Mmmmm," she moaned as his warm comforting hand touched her back. It was as if he were soothing it and when his fingers caressed her back she pushed into him while running her fingers over his cheek. Ulysses moaned into the kiss as he caressed her soft skin and her nails scraped along his back driving him insane as he caressed her stomach. Ulysses' touch to Xena just felt so good it was as if she couldn't get enough of it, "pull me closer," she whispered to him between a kiss, "hold me tighter," she whispered once more breaking another kiss and Ulysses moaned as he did just that.

A half an hour passed and they continued to lay there and kiss like they had all the time in the world. Finally when a kiss ended Xena leaned in and placed a kiss on Ulysses' forehead, grinning as he pulled her closer, his head in her chest as he inhaled her scent. She grinned as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair then looked over towards the door remembering she had brought him something. "Oh I forgot," Xena said, "forgot what?" Ulysses said as he continued to hold her close getting himself drunk off of her sweet smell. "I got something for you," Xena said as she pulled Ulysses back and he looked at her, "what do you have for me?" He asked and she grinned as she untangled herself from him getting off of the bed and walking over to the door. "What is that?" Ulysses asked as he sat up in the bed and Xena brought the big item that was covered in a cloth over to him. "Remove the cloth and see," Xena said as she placed the object on his lap and she sat down on the bed next to him. He looked at the large item on his lap, "well it can't be a horse because it's way too small," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him.

"You don't even like horses," she said and he shook his head as he turned and looked at her, "no, I don't like riding them. I like horses just fine as long as I don't have to get on one." He said and she shook her head at him, "open it," she said and he looked back down at the object. "Maybe it's a beautiful and very large picture of you," Ulysses guess and Xena chuckled at him as she rolled her eyes. "Will you just open it," she said and Ulysses grinned at her then let out a breath as he untied the string that held it close. He sat the string to the side then removed the cloth to see a beautifully crafted, golden lyre on his lap. "Oh Xena," he said as he looked at it running his fingers over the craftsmanship, the groves and carvings. "Do you like it?" She asked and he shook his head in awe as he looked at it, "I love it, it's…its magnificent." He said then picked it up and looked over it, "I mean who ever made this is a genius, I mean look at how perfectly crafted this is." Ulysses said then ran his fingers over the strings hearing the beautiful sound, "oh that is a thing of beauty."

He said as he shook his head and looked at it and Xena smiled, "I'm glad you like it," she said and he looked at her, "I love it, thank you," he said and she nodded. "Um Xena, something like this had to cost you a whole lot of money," Ulysses said as he looked at her and she grinned as she shook her head, "not really," she said and he looked at her. "Are you sure?" He asked and she nodded as she placed her hand on his cheek, "it's a gift Ulysses and I swear to you I didn't tap into my life savings or anything, so you don't have to worry. I just wanted to do something nice for you, to show you how much I care and how sorry I was," she said and he looked into her eyes for a moment then grinned. "Well it is really beautiful," he said and she grinned then leaned in and kissed him softly. "I'm really glad you love it," she said and Ulysses grinned then sat up all the way in the bed with his back leaning against the head board. Xena sat close next to him her arm on his shoulder as she ran her fingers through his hair, "play me something," she said and he looked at her then grinned as he looked down at the lyre.

"Hey I wanted to ask you something; is it true you can sing?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him, "where'd you hear that?" She asked and he hunched his shoulders, "around, so is it true?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked into his eyes and grinned, "I guess I have somewhat of a voice," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Why don't you let me hear you sing," Xena said to Ulysses who grinned at her, "it's been a while," he said and she hunched her shoulders. "So, I still wanna hear," she said and he looked at her as he grinned and nodded. He cleared his throat then let out a breath as his fingers began to slide along the strings of the lyre and he began to make up a tune; it was a slow, loving tune that could make you feel so much just from listening to it.

When he had a melody he closed his eyes and let the words come from his heart and he began to sing, "never knew I could feel like this…like I've never seen the sky before. I want to vanish inside your kiss…everyday I love you more and more. Listen to my heart can you hear it sings…telling me to give you everything…seasons may change, winter to spring, but I love you…until the end of time. Come what may…come what may…I will love you until my dying day," Ulysses sung then looked at Xena who had a smile on her face at his great voice.

"Your turn," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him, "what? I don't know this song," Xena said and Ulysses grinned, "neither did I, I just made it up. The words came from my heart, they're how I feel about you, about us," he said and Xena looked into his eyes. "Tell me how you feel Xena," he said and she looked into his eyes then grinned as she nodded and he started up with the melody where he left off; and Xena did exactly what Ulysses said, she let the words come from her heart. "Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place…suddenly in moves with such a perfect grace…suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste…it all revolves around you." Xena sung with a huge smile on her face and Ulysses smiled as well and he couldn't believe she said she had some what of a voice. She had a magnificent voice, he was sure she could out sing the sirens or any muse. How great her voice was shouldn't have surprised him, for the simple fact he thought everything about Xena was perfect and he loved every part of her.

What did surprise him and her too was he began singing with her and their words matched and though it was weird they both smiled at each other as they continued to sing. "And there's no mountain too high…no river too wide…sing out this song and I'll be there by your side. Storm clouds may gather…and stars may collide," they sung their voices going high as did Ulysses' melody and then they went down as they looked at each other. "But I love you," Ulysses sung with a smile on his face and Xena grinned, "I love you," she sung.

"Until the end," he sung, "until the end…of time," Xena finished in sync with him and the music they were making was beautiful as they continued to sing with each other. "Come what may…come what may, I will love you until my dying day. Oh come what may…come what may," Xena smiled as Ulysses' voice went up at that point and she could tell he loved singing. "I will…love…you," they sung together their voices coming down and Ulysses continued to play the lyre while Xena sung the last part. "I will love you, suddenly the world seems such a perfect place," she sung and Ulysses grinned as he finished up the melody then looked at Xena.

"Woman you can sing," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him, "I've never heard a voice as beautiful as yours and trust me I've heard my share of women singers." Ulysses said and Xena grinned, "well thank you and I must say Ulysses, I'm impressed. You can really sing yourself and you're great with the lyre, plus I can tell you love singing. Why aren't you out there singing and having fun? I know you would love it," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked down at the lyre, "I have responsibilities at home Xena, a lot of responsibilities and there just wasn't time for me to do that. It wasn't what was expected of me," he said then looked at her and grinned. "But I had my rebellion years, where I did what I wanted and didn't care if I got in trouble. Virgil was always there with me getting into trouble, of course he was wilder than I was and at times still is," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him. "You two have been friends for a long time," Xena said and Ulysses grinned and nodded.

"Since we were children; his father works for my father so we were always around each other, our mothers hung out and things like that. Then we went to the same academy, got into loads of trouble all of the time," Ulysses said with a smile and Xena grinned at him. "He may not be my brother by blood but by heart he is," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "He left with you when you decided to leave home," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Yea, his father holds a high position as well, just not as high as my father's but his father was basically pushing him the same way mine was pushing me." Ulysses said then let out a breath as he lowered the lyre down on his lap, "you know, you and he have something in common," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "What?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned, "you both like to punch me when I say something you don't like and you both hit damn hard," Ulysses said bringing his hand up to his jaw where Xena hit him and she gave him a small grin. "I'm sorry," she said and he nodded, "yea, well, can I have a kiss there?"

Ulysses asked and Xena grinned at him as she placed her arm around his shoulder then leaned in and placed a kiss on his jaw then another and another. "Is that better?" She whispered to him and he nodded, "yea," he said after he cleared his throat and Xena grinned at him. "Why did your father hit you?" Xena asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "I was angry, really angry and I was tired. He just dumped all of these responsibilities on me and they were huge, I got mad when he did that. That's when I had the talk with the tree," Ulysses said and Xena ran her fingers over his hand. "But I took it in stride and did the best I could which was a damn good job. But while I was doing what I was asked, I just felt like I was dying in the inside; they, meaning my family, wanted me to stop sulking and I just…I got angry." Ulysses said as he shook his head, "I talked to my mother about the way I was feeling and I talked to my father, neither one of them seemed to hear me and then they have the nerve to tell me to stop sulking. How could they not understand that I was feeling totally lost, alone and empty?

I tried every way to explain it to them and they just didn't hear me. My father's excuse was he heard me and he understood how I felt but that didn't stop him from adding more and more responsibilities on me. His thing was, that I felt lost because I didn't have enough work to do, enough involvement in what we did. So giving me job after job after job was his way of helping me to find myself and to mold me into the man he wants me to be which I think is himself." Ulysses said then let out a breath as he turned and looked at Xena, "well that day I left we had an argument at dinner. He wanted me to stop sulking and acting like a petulant child and I wanted to know what in Tartarus he wanted from me." Ulysses said then got up of the bed sitting the lyre to the side as he began pacing and Xena watched him, "I told him he wanted me to be like him, all dried up of life and well, that's when he hit me." Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "I of course didn't hit him back, though I wanted to; I just told him he would never get that from me and then I walked away and that was the last time they saw me."

Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "have you tried contacting them in any way? You know they're probably worried about you Ulysses," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Yea, but this is how it has to be Xena. I wrote my mother a note before I left and asked Victoria to give it to her two weeks after I was gone." Ulysses said then let out a breath as he sat down on the bed sideways so that he was looking at Xena. "They're searching for me now I know it, they're searching every village, every town, and city. I left no trail though; I didn't take a ship from the docks. When we were dropped off in Macedonia, it wasn't at a dock. I traded my clothes for common clothes and did the same with my money. I changed my name too," Ulysses said then grinned, "but when I met you, I don't know what happened." Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him, "so there's no way they can find you?" Xena asked and Ulysses shook his head, "not really, other than I used money from home to buy you Argo and the man recognized the money and wanted to know who I was.

Of course I didn't tell him but I'm sure if there were a reward he would give me up. They'll probably get here and search Amphipolis but I'll just hide until they leave," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "You bought Argo for me even though it would risk you being caught," Xena said as she looked into Ulysses' eyes and he nodded. "I want to see you happy Xena; I know you've wanted a horse for a long time. I saw you with Argo and I knew you liked her, when I came to see you in the stables it confirmed that and I decided to get her for you. Seeing you happy makes me happy Xena, that's all there is to it," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him then grinned as she shook her head. "You know I was just thinking we've known each other for all this time and we've never talked about our families. I mean you know I have a sister, father and a mother and I know you have a mother and two brothers but that's it."

Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "why don't you go first then," Xena suggested and Ulysses looked at her. "I have a father, mother and sister," he said and Xena chuckled at him and he grinned at her. "What are their names?" Xena asked, "oh, if that's what you wanted to know you should have said so," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she shook her head. "My father's name is Julian and he's about ten years older than Cyrene. His age shows in his hair at the most but he's still strong and still has a good body. My mother, her name is Marguerite and she is very beautiful." He said with a grin and Xena grinned at him, "I get my eyes from her, she has dark brown hair to her shoulders and is about the same height as Corrinna. She's sassy when she wants to be and normally plays peacekeeper between my father and I. I thought she understood me," Ulysses said then went quiet as he thought about that his mother not understanding him hurting him the most. Xena looked at him and could tell he was hurting when he said that, she could see it in his body language and in his eyes.

"Tell me about your sister," Xena said trying to get his mind off of the pain and he looked at her, "Camilla," Ulysses said then smiled. "Ah Camilla," he said then shook his head, "that girl there," he said then smiled and shook his head. "Camilla is sassy, spunky, doesn't mind telling you what's on her mind, will nag the Tartarus out of you." He said with a grin and Xena looked at him, "but you love her," she said and he smiled and nodded. "I do, I wonder if she knew though. She could really work on my nerves sometimes, just drive me crazy and she was doing that two weeks before I left." Ulysses said then let out a breath as he stood, "she wasn't talking to me. She was upset with me about being with one of her best friends. Supposedly she thinks she knows how I am," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "How is that?" She asked and he let out a breath, "that I sleep with a different woman every night or every other night and I don't care about their feelings, I only want to get between their thighs. So she put it," he said then let out a breath as he turned and looked at Xena.

"In some cases that was true especially when I lost my virginity, Virgil and I went kind of crazy. But I always told who ever I was with that I wasn't looking for a relationship or to get married. I just wanted pleasure for the sake of pleasure and most women understood that and there were others who didn't." Ulysses said then sat down on the bed, "tell me about her," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her. "Victoria is a little like you and what I mean by that, is she isn't afraid to tell me what's on her mind and when she gets angry those green eyes turned a deep emerald. Those two things attracted me to her most; I hadn't been myself in a month or so, so I hadn't had sex for a while. Then came Camilla and her group of friends; Virgil started flirting with one of them, Camilla got angry saying we were standing by the well trying to see what women we could sleep with. Virgil and Gary were doing that but I wasn't, in fact I had just gotten there. Anyway to make a long story short, Victoria told me just because other women threw themselves at my feet didn't mean she was going to be one of them."

Ulysses said and Xena watched as he grinned some, "I wasn't even flirting with her, but when she said that, it was like she was throwing a challenge in my face." He said, "a challenge you couldn't ignore," Xena said and he looked at her looked into her eyes and saw that strangely she understood. "No I couldn't. So I kissed her, I kissed her good and she fought for a second if it was even that; I had her where I wanted her. Camilla got angry and the next thing I knew at dinner she's telling me not to sleep with Victoria. I ignored her, she's kicking me under the table; I'm getting tired of it. She tries to hit me and misses, father gets upset and the next thing I know she's telling our parents who she thinks she knows who I am and what I will do to Victoria. Then my father is telling me not to sleep with her and that's an order," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him a grin appearing on her face.

"You didn't like that," she said and he shook his head, "I hate when people tell me not to do something and I hate it even more so when I'm forbade to do something." Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "I know the feeling," Xena said and he grinned at her. "Anyway, I was tempted to sleep with her just to show them that they don't control me but I wasn't in the mood; of course she was and she walked me to my room and we talked and I think you get the picture." Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "well Camilla knew it, that morning we had breakfast and that was the morning my father gave me all that work to do. Victoria was someone I could talk to, she listened to me and when I needed pleasure and comfort she was there for me. We became good friends but like I let every other woman know, I let her know, I didn't want to get married and I didn't want a relationship. I just needed companionship without all the strings attached, I thought she understood that." He said then let out a breath, "she began to fall in love with you," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he stood.

"We were only together two weeks but…" Ulysses said then hunched his shoulders, "you know I don't understand women sometimes," he said then turned around and looked at Xena as she chuckled at him. "No you don't do you?" She asked and he walked over to her and sat down, "meaning?" He asked and she looked at him, "she was probably in love or at least infatuated with you for a while." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "how do you know?" Ulysses asked and she grinned at him, "I'm a woman and just because I'm not sexually active doesn't mean I don't know the rest of things that go on with women." Xena said and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "I guess you're right. She was always picking an argument with me maybe that was her way of saying I want you and I want you now." He said and Xena laughed at him and he smiled as he looked at her, "you don't think that was it?" He asked with a smile and she smiled at him, "no that was probably it but it's just the way you said it."

Xena said and Ulysses grinned at her, "did I capture it good?" He asked and she chuckled at him as she shook her head at him, "you're crazy," she said and he grinned as he got up on his hands and knees on the bed. "Only about you," he said and she looked at him as he leaned in and kissed her softly and as they kissed she lay down on the bed and he lay down next to her but slightly on top of her. And when the kiss ended Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as she caressed his cheek, "so you didn't love her?" She asked and he shook his head, "no," he said and she looked at him. "How many lovers have you had before me?" She asked, "none," he replied as he looked into her eyes. "And after me?" She asked, "absolutely none," he said immediately as he looked into her eyes then leaned down preparing to kiss her. "There will be none after you because you are the only one for me," he whispered to her just before they kissed. "Mmmm," Xena moaned into the kiss as she ran her fingers through his hair and pushed her body up into his. Minutes later when the kiss ended Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes, "you will be my first," she whispered to him then rose up and brushed her lips against his, "my only and my last."

She whispered and he moaned at that then took her lips in a kiss and they kissed for a while then began rolling around on the bed as they kissed. They smiled, talked and laughed between kisses and once they almost rolled onto the lyre so Ulysses picked it up and placed it against the wall by the bed then resumed his kisses with Xena. "Are you ticklish?" He asked as he ran his fingers up her sides and she tried to hold it in, she tried to look at him with a straight face but soon she started laughing. "You are," he said then began tickling her, "ah…stop," she said between her laughter then began searching his body for ticklish spots. "Hey…yah…that's not fair," he said as he began hoping and jumping all over the place as Xena found a ticklish spot behind his leg and on his lower side. They rolled on the bed tickling each other and laughing and then Xena grabbed a pillow and hit Ulysses with it. "Oh you cheat," he said then picked up a pillow of his own and hit her with it and before they knew it they were having a pillow fight. About ten minutes later Xena was on one side of the bed and Ulysses was on the other and they were looking at each other.

"You might as well give up," he said with a grin and she smiled at him, "never," she said then faked right and he went for it and as he did Xena jumped on the bed jumping down on the other side and headed for the door dropping her pillow on the floor as she left. "Oh she's good," Ulysses said with a smile then dropped his pillow on the bed and ran after her. Xena ran down the stairs jumping two at a time and she zoomed through the dinning area and went straight into the kitchen. "Xena what in the world?" Cyrene asked her daughter and Xena looked at her, "you haven't seen me," Xena said then smiled as she heard Ulysses, then ran down the stairs. Cyrene and Corrinna looked at Ulysses came bursting through the kitchen doors and they looked at him, "I know she came this way," Ulysses said as he looked around and they looked at him. "Haven't seen her," Cyrene said and he looked at her then shook his head and went down the stairs, moments later they heard a squeal and Xena came running up the stairs with Ulysses hot on her tail as she ran out the back door.

Cyrene walked over to the window as did Corrinna and they watched Xena and Ulysses zig zag as Xena tried to avoid him and he tried to catch her. Finally he tricked her and caught her from behind picking her up and they grinned as Xena squealed in pleasure then smiled and laughed. After a bit Ulysses put her down and Xena turned around in his arms then leaned in and kissed him softly but passionately, "I guess things are back to normal," Corrinna said and Cyrene nodded. "Thank goodness, between the two of them I was running out of work for Ulysses to do and the Inn was beginning to lose customers with Xena's cooking." Cyrene said and Corrinna chuckled a few minutes later Xena walked into the kitchen with Ulysses behind her and they were holding hands. "So I see you guys worked everything out," Cyrene said and Xena grinned and nodded. "We did," Xena said, smiling as Ulysses wrapped his arm around her, "Cyrene do you mind if I take your daughter for a walk, I promise we won't be long."

Ulysses said and Cyrene grinned at them, "no you guys go ahead," Cyrene said, "are you sure mom? You don't need my help with any thing?" Xena asked and Cyrene grinned as she shook her head, "no dear, we've got it, you two go and have fun," Cyrene said and Xena smiled. "I'll see you later," Xena said and Cyrene nodded and watched as her daughter left out of the Inn with Ulysses with her. They went for a walk along the river but this walk was different from all the others, before Xena held Ulysses' hand and now she still held it but she leaned on his arm and he loved it. They talked about anything and everything, there were no bounds and Ulysses found that he placed sweet, soft kisses on her forehead without really thinking about it and Xena liked that as well. When they got back to the Inn it was late; Xena helped her mother close as did Ulysses and then they all went to bed. The next morning Xena and Ulysses both woke up happy and extremely ready to start the day. Again they were close but in a way they were closer than they had ever been.

Ulysses could often sense the things Xena wanted or needed and she could do the same with him but they didn't really pay it any mind. They went for walks and swims; the exercised and sparred together, Ulysses seeing that Xena's training was obviously helping since she was getting a lot better. In his spare time when he wasn't with Xena and those were days when the Inn was really busy Ulysses would practice on his lyre and Virgil had went and bought him one so that he and Ulysses could practice together. Before they knew it, another month had passed and they were all enjoying it. Xena did like Athena said and took her relationship with Ulysses step by step, day by day and found herself falling deeper in love with Ulysses. There were times when he made it impossible for her to fight it even if she wanted to. There was this one particular day when the Inn had been real busy from the time they opened to the time they closed; people were passing through and things like that. Xena and her mother worked all day but Xena was more on her feet as a waitress and then seeing to the needs of the guests that were staying over night.

Her mother stayed in the kitchen and cooked which was hard as well since they had twice the people they usually had and with two waitresses sick, Xena and the others were pulling doubles. By the end of the day they were all dead tired and Xena took a hot bath to soak her feet which were killing her but that didn't seem to help. When she was finished her bath she limped her way back to her room where she put on a tunic then laid down on the bed, letting out a breath. She had just laid down when they was a knock on her door, "yea," she called not even considering getting up. The door open and Ulysses stuck his head in with his hand covering his eyes, "are you decent?" He asked and she chuckled at him, "please don't make me laugh, it takes up too much energy and I'm just too tired." Xena said and Ulysses looked at Xena as he walked into her room closing the door behind him. "Yea it was crazy today," he said and Xena nodded, "you're telling me. Tired I can handle but my feet feel like they're about to fall off," Xena said and Ulysses sat down on the bed by her feet.

He grabbed her foot and began massaging it, "what are you doing?" She asked and he looked at her, "what does it look like? Now just lay back, relax and enjoy," he said then began pressing down hard as he massaged her feet and she closed her eyes and moaned as she began feeling relief. "That feels really good," she said and Ulysses grinned as he massaged her left foot; he looked at her as he brought her foot up to his face and leaned down some so that he could place a kiss on what hurt her as if that would remove the pain. She smiled at him and continued to watch him massage her foot while he placed his healing kiss all over her foot. He massaged that foot for about ten minutes then worked on her right foot doing the same. When he was done she had dosed off to sleep so he carefully placed her foot on the bed then stood making sure he didn't wake her. He pulled the cover up over her then placed a kiss on her forehead, "sweet dreams my love," he whispered to her then headed for the door.

"Ulysses," Xena called just as he opened the door and he turned and looked at her, "go back to sleep," he whispered to her and she turned on her side and looked at him. "Will you stay with me tonight?" She asked him and he looked at her, "Xena," he said not sure if that was a good idea. "Please," she said and he looked at her, "I need you," she whispered to him and he looked into her eyes where he did see a need. He closed the door then walked over to the bed where her sat down on the bed and removed his boots sitting them to the side then took off his shirt putting it on a nearby chair. He crawled into the bed laying by the wall leaving Xena on the outside; he laid down on his back getting under the cover and she instantly moved into his arms. She was tight against him with her hand on his chest and her leg between his; he had his arm wrapped tightly around her pulling her even closer. "Thank you," she said and Ulysses looked down at her, "anything for you," he whispered to her then placed a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep," he whispered to her and Xena let out a breath as she closed her eyes and her hand caressed Ulysses' chest for a few minutes before sleep took her.

Ulysses felt Xena's breathing even out and he looked down at her to see that she was asleep. He grinned to himself then placed another kiss on her forehead as he tightened his hold around her. He lay there and thought about Xena and their relationship and soon he fell asleep and he slept better than he had in a long time. That morning when he woke up he was actually rested and feeling really good and energetic, he looked down at Xena who was still deeply asleep. "The gods know I love you," he whispered as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "I love you too," she said in her sleep and Ulysses looked at her to make sure she was still asleep and when he saw that she was he grinned to himself. Ulysses lay there for a while then eased himself from under Xena who moaned at the protest and Ulysses grinned as he gave her his pillow. He watched as she moaned while squeezing the pillow but she stayed asleep. Ulysses put on his shirt then grabbed his boots and quietly walked out of the room.

When he was in the hall he put his boots on then walked up the stairs where Cyrene was already up and preparing breakfast. "Good morning," he said startling Cyrene and she looked at him, "Ulysses gods you scared me. I didn't hear you come down," she said as she went back to stirring her pot. "That's because I came up," he said and she turned and looked at him,  
"you were in Xena's room," she said and he nodded as he sat down on a stool by the corner.

"Yea she was exhausted last night and her feet were killing her so I massaged them and she fell asleep. I was leaving when she asked me to stay, I didn't know if it was a good idea but she needed me, needed the comfort I could provide her." Ulysses said and Cyrene nodded, "yes I know about that kind of comfort." Cyrene said then looked out of the window to see the rain start, "let her sleep in, I don't think its going to be busy today. When it rains people usually stay in their homes or in their rooms, and I'm sure we could all use the rest." Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded, "in that case I was thinking about bringing her breakfast in bed," Ulysses said and Cyrene grinned at him.

"I think she would love that," Cyrene said and Ulysses grinned. An hour later Xena opened her eyes and reached out for Ulysses, when she didn't find him she sat up and looked around the room. She ran her fingers through her hair then over her face then looked up as the door opened, "you're up," Ulysses said as he walked into the room with a tray full of food in his hands and she looked at him. "What are you doing?" She asked him and he grinned at her as he kicked the door closed then walked over to the bed sitting the tray down in the middle, "bringing you breakfast in bed," he said then kicked off his boots and crawled back into the bed sitting over by the wall. "As much as I appreciate the thought and love the fact that you did this for me, I have to get up and help mother," Xena said and Ulysses shook his head. "Nope your mother has given us the day off since it's raining, it won't be busy today so this will be a day for us to relax and just enjoy each other's company." Ulysses said and she looked at him then grinned as he leaned in and kissed her softly, when the kiss ended he caressed her cheek as he looked into her eyes.

"Now I went through a lot of trouble preparing this," Ulysses said as he looked down at the food as did Xena, "you cooked this?" She asked and he looked at her, "well no, but I had to figure out what you liked," he said with a grin and she chuckled at him. "We have a variety of fruits and cheeses, some warm cereal with honey in it since I've seen you eat it like this so many times." Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded, "we also have some flap jacks which your mother says you also like with honey and here we have some sausage and toast bread. And to wash it all down we have some orange juice and some water," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him, "it all looks good," she said and he grinned. "Which would you like to start with?" He asked and she looked down at it, "how about some fruit?" She said and he nodded, "fruit it is," he said then picked up a piece of melon. "What you're gonna feed it to me?" Xena asked with a grin and he smiled and nodded, "if you'll let me," he said and she looked into his eyes then opened her mouth and he grinned as he fed her the melon.

Next was a strawberry then a slice of peach and their eyes stayed connected the entire time. When that was done they moved to the cereal and he fed her that along with some sausage and toast eating some himself. They talked while they ate and when they were finished Ulysses got out of the bed and placed the tray on the table then got back into bed. "That was wonderful Ulysses, thank you," Xena said and he grinned at her, "I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said and she nodded. "You know I find that I have to get use to some of the things you do, since I've never had it done before," she said. "I use to envy the village girls sometimes because they had someone who loved them and would do nice romantic things for them and I thought I would never have that." Xena said then grinned, "now all the girls envy me because I have a very handsome man tending to my every need. He massages my feet and brings me breakfast in bed," Xena said with a smile and Ulysses smiled at her. "So I'm your man?" He asked and she grinned as she looked at him, "you better know it," she said and he chuckled at her, "possessive aren't you?"

He asked her and she looked at him, "when it comes to certain things, yes," she said and he smiled as he leaned in, "I find that very, very sexy," he said and she smiled as he kissed her. "Are you my woman?" He asked and she grinned at him, "you better know it," she said and he smiled at her. "I like that," he said and she smiled at him. They spent the rest of the morning talking to each other and then they had lunch with Cyrene, Corrinna, Toris, Lyceus and Virgil and they all had a great time talking, joking and laughing. When lunch was over they all decided to take naps but Ulysses and Xena just lay in Xena's bed; Xena lay in Ulysses' arms as he read a story to her and though the story was good she loved hearing his voice, loved hearing him talk. She moved closer to him and he ran his fingers up and down her back then placed a kiss on her forehead before he continued reading. Ulysses continued reading for another half an hour then looked down to see Xena had dosed off and he grinned as he sat the scroll to the side and joined her. An hour and a half later, Xena woke up and she looked down at Ulysses who was still asleep, she lay there for a while watching him sleep and listening to his heart beat.

After a while, she eased herself out of his arms and he moaned but just turned on his side and stayed asleep. She quietly put a belt on around her tunic then put her boots on. She grabbed her cloak and put it on then quietly left the room and headed up to the kitchen where she walked out the back door into the rain and headed to the stables where she proceeded to check on Argo. "Hey girl," she said to the palomino who neighed at her mistress and Xena grinned as she rubbed Argo's neck then decided to give her a nice brush down. When she was finished she made sure Argo had enough water and food then gave her a few treats and talked to her while she rubbed her neck getting the strange sense that Argo understood her and enjoyed the talk. "Well girl hopefully this rain will let up and we can go for a nice run," Xena said and Argo bobbed her head in agreement and Xena smiled. "Alright girl I'll see you later," Xena said as she patted the horse on her neck then walked out of the stable and walked back to the Inn. She walked into the Inn and her mother looked at her, "where have you been?"

She asked her daughter and Xena looked at her, "I went to check on Argo," Xena said and Cyrene shook her head at her daughter. "You and that horse; go and put on some dry clothes before you catch your death," Cyrene said and with that Xena headed down stairs then quietly walked into her room. She looked towards the bed and saw he was still asleep so she quietly but quickly took off her wet clothes laying them out to dry and she put on a fresh, dry, white tunic. She walked back over to the bed and got in carefully under the cover as to not wake Ulysses. She lay on her side facing away from the wall and Ulysses moved up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist, "how's Argo?" He asked and she grinned as she ran her hand over his arm, "she's fine. When ever this rain lets up I'm gonna take her for a run," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he held Xena closer. "I missed you while you were gone," he said as he placed a kiss on the back of her neck and she grinned as she picked up his hand, "I missed you too," she said then kissed the palm of his hand.

Ulysses moaned then dosed back off to sleep and it took a while but Xena followed behind him. The rest of the day pretty much went by like that and when they woke up Ulysses read more to Xena and this story was funny so she was on his chest laughing away with him. It was times like these that Xena couldn't keep those walls up even though Ulysses was slowly lowering each one. But the times like these when they were close and they felt each other's love and they were so happy, Xena couldn't help as Ulysses moved more into her heart. About a week passed and after the rainy day they had nothing but beautiful sunny days after that and still Xena and Ulysses' love for one another seemed to grow and grow. There was a day when business was slow in the Inn so Xena decided to keep Ulysses company; he was moving heavy barrels of mead and cider around and boxes of other things. It was a hot day and the sun was beaming down on Ulysses as he moved around so he had his shirt off and a sheen of sweat covered his chest and face.

As he continued to move things Xena sat on the stone wall that was there since Ulysses just built it and she read a scroll to him and just like she loved hearing his voice, he loved hearing her voice. As Xena read the story her eyes looked at Ulysses' body every now and then and she had to admit that he was a fine looking man. When he was done moving things he went to chopping up fire wood since they were getting low, most of the wood getting used up on Cyrene's bread baking days. "Ulysses come get something to drink," Xena called to him and he nodded, "I'll be there in a minute," he said as he picked up the wood he had chopped, placing it in his arms and carrying it over to the other piles that were set up neatly. When he was done he walked over to Xena who still sat on the wall and had poured him a cool glass of water. She handed the water to him and he downed it in three gulps, "you want some more?" She asked him and he nodded; she poured him some more water and he drained that glass as well. "Thanks," he told Xena and she grinned at him, "you need to take it easy in this heat," she said and he nodded.

"I will, I promise," he said as he moved between her legs then placed his hands on the wall and pushed himself up so that he could kiss her and she smiled as she leaned down and kissed him. She ran her hands over his sweaty arms just wanting to feel the muscles ripple underneath, Ulysses could tell she liked his muscular body so he rose up even more and pressed his body into hers. She smiled into the kiss, "you're bad," she told him and he grinned and nodded as he resumed their kiss. "Would you look at them," Cyrene said and Corrinna looked out of the window at Xena and Ulysses, "it's good to see her so in love," Corrinna said and Cyrene nodded. "Yes it is and I hope they stay together," Cyrene said and Corrinna nodded. "Yea they're good for each other, they fit perfectly together like two halves of a whole," Corrinna said and Cyrene nodded. Back outside the kiss finally ended and Ulysses was back on his feet as he looked into Xena's eyes, "I love you," he said and she grinned at him as she caressed his cheek, "I love you too." She said and he looked into her eyes as he kissed the palm of her hand and she smiled at him.

"I have to get back to work but will you keep reading?" He asked and she grinned and nodded and that's what they did. The next two weeks were very busy and very hard for everyone. Amphipolis was getting ready for the summer harvest festival which meant that Lyceus, Toris and Virgil were working extra hard; Ulysses was working double hard since they needed his help in the fields and helped Cyrene out a lot around the Inn, plus since the village had heard Ulysses was great at building and fixing things people were asking him to fix things as well as build things, such as stalls for what they were selling and the head elder had found some popular entertainment for the festival, so a stage needed to be built in an open space. So they all worked hard, Xena having to cut her training down to a half a day just so she could get other things done. Everyday that passed things were getting busier and busier, especially with travelers coming in and staying at the Inn or with relatives no matter what, the Inn was always crowded.

Though there was a lot to do Xena found time out of everyday to go and check on Ulysses and to bring him lunch where ever he was. Today he was in the town square building the stage with the help of others and as Xena walked over to the square she could see women all around with their eyes on Ulysses. She grinned to herself as she looked at him; he was bent over sanding something down on the half built stage and he didn't have his shirt on and it was hot outside so he was sweating. With him bent over you got the perfect picture of his butt and he looked absolutely delicious, Xena had to admit to herself that she was glad that he was hers. She walked up behind Ulysses and couldn't help but reach out and pinch his butt, "hey," he said as he spun around and looked at Xena then let out a breath. "Oh it's you," he said and she looked at him, "such a warm welcome," she said with a grin and he looked at him. "I'm sorry Xe, I didn't mean it that way, it's just that women have been pinching and caressing my butt all day and I think there were a few men in there some where."

He said and Xena chuckled at him, "well I can see why they're so attracted," she said as she walked up closer to him and he looked into her eyes, "really?" He said and she nodded as she ran her finger down his chest, "you are a delightful sight," she said and he looked into her eyes and grinned then closed his eyes and moaned as she softly kissed him. She sat the basket down on the stage then ran her hands up his arms as she pushed into him and tasted his lips. "Mmmm…Ummm," Ulysses moaned as his hands held Xena's waist and he pulled her closer and Xena placed her arms on Ulysses' shoulders. As the kiss ended she ran her fingers through his hair. When the kiss finally ended her hands were holding Ulysses' face and he looked into her eyes as she looked into his, "Wow," he said and she chuckled at him then kissed him softly once more. "I brought you some lunch," she said and he grinned at her, "thanks," he said then took her hand and pulled her over to the stage where they sat down.

Ulysses opened the basket and looked into it to see what Xena brought him, "ooh you brought me some of those apple pastries I love," Ulysses said and Xena grinned. "I made them myself," she said then picked up one out of the bowl. "Here, tell me what you think," she said as she fed it to him and he closed his eyes as he bit into it. She looked at him as he chewed and he smiled and nodded as he opened his eyes and looked at Xena, "that's great," he said and Xena smiled. "Really?" She asked and Ulysses grinned and nodded as he continued to eat the pastry," yea, don't tell Cyrene but yours are better than hers," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him. "I fixed them all for you so you'll have some for dinner," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Thanks," he said with a mouth full of sandwich, "sorry," he said and Xena grinned at him. "Its okay, I figured you would be hungry so I fixed you two sandwiches and brought you a cool bottle of cider." Xena said and Ulysses grinned and Xena sat there with him for about ten minutes while he ate and they talked.

"I have to head back to the Inn, we're still really busy and I told mom I wouldn't be more than twenty minutes," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he drained his cup then placed it in the basket and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Thank you very much for taking time out for me, even though you are very busy, I wish I could do the same," he said as he stood and looked at Xena and she grinned at him as she brought her hand up to his cheek. "It's alright, I know how it is, we're all busy," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath and nodded as he looked into her eyes. "Still I want to spend time with you, hold you and kiss you," he said and she grinned as he leaned in and kissed her softly. When the kiss ended Ulysses wrapped his arms around Xena, holding her close and their foreheads leaned against each other. They looked into each other's eyes and then Ulysses began humming and moving and Xena smiled as she began moving in small steps with him in a circle.

"Come what may," Ulysses sung and Xena smiled as she held his face in her hands, "I will love you," Xena sung and Ulysses smiled. "Until the end of time," Ulysses finished and they both smiled at each other then leaned in for a small brief kiss. When the kiss ended Ulysses looked into Xena's eyes, "stay with me tonight," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes. "Are you sure?" She asked him and he nodded, "I want to hold you so much and I want to wake up and see your face. We won't do anything you wouldn't approve of, or you're not ready for, I swear." He said and she grinned at him, "alright," she said and Ulysses smiled then leaned in and kissed Xena and as they kissed, his hands went under her arms and he lifted her up off the ground some. Xena smiled into the kiss as she placed her hands on Ulysses' arms feeling his muscles flex as he used them. When the kiss ended Ulysses lowered Xena back to the ground and they smiled at each other, "I'll see you later," he said and she grinned and nodded as she picked up the basket.

"That you will," Xena said and Ulysses smiled as she watched her turn around and walked away and watched her he did. He continued to smile as he shook his head and turned around to continue working on the stage and for the rest of the day he was no longer bothered by straying hands, most of the women having seen his display of love and affection with Xena. It was late when Ulysses was finally finished for the day and when he got to the Inn he washed his hands and sat down at the table, smiling at Xena who placed a plate of steaming hot food in front of him. "Thanks," he said and she grinned as she ran her fingers through his hair then placed a loving kiss on his forehead. "When you're done there's a hot bath waiting for you in your room," Xena whispered to him and he nodded then watched as she continued to move around the kitchen from time to time going into the dinning area.

Virgil and the others had arrived an hour before Ulysses and they had ate and taken a bath and were probably deeply asleep right now. When Ulysses was finished eating he stood and headed up to his room; when he opened the door and walked into the room his feet froze at the scene before him. There in the nice size room, was a tub off to the side so that it was totally in the middle of the floor. Steam rose from the tub and the aroma in the room smelled delightful but that wasn't the only thing that made his feet stick to that particular spot on the floor. It was the fact that there were candles on the tub and a few around the room, in fact those candles were the only light. It was a romantic yet calming atmosphere; Ulysses looked towards the bed to see it had been turned down and his pajamas were laid out for him. He couldn't help but smile and shake his head as he closed the door behind him then began to strip as he prepared to get into that inviting water. Moments later when he was completely naked, he let out a moan as his body submerged into the hot water, immediately relaxing his muscles.

He soaked for a long while, basically until the water became cold and then he began to bathe himself. The inn was finally closed and Xena helped her mother clean up. "Good night mom," Xena said as she started heading through the kitchen door, "where are you going?" Cyrene asked her daughter and Xena looked at her mother, "I'm staying with Ulysses tonight," Xena said and Cyrene looked at her daughter. "Don't look at me like that mom, he just wants to spend some time with me, hold me and things like that and I want to spend time with him." Xena said and Cyrene nodded, "alright dear, you're old enough to know what you're doing, just don't do anything you'll regret in the morning." Cyrene said and Xena nodded, "I know momma," Xena said and Cyrene nodded and headed downstairs to her bedroom and Xena headed upstairs to Ulysses' room. When she walked into his room her head was down as she thought about a few things; she closed the door behind her then looked up at Ulysses who was just getting out of the tub.

"Oh," Xena said then turned her head and Ulysses looked at her, "I…I thought you…you would be finished and dressed by now," Xena said as she brought her hand up to her eyes covering them while she stuttered and Ulysses looked at her then grinned as he wrapped his towel around his waist after drying himself off. "Xena its fine," Ulysses said as he walked over to her and she looked at him and saw he only wore a towel and barely that so she brought her hand back up to her face. "Um…will you please put some clothes on," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her. "Look at me Xena," Ulysses said and Xena shook her head and Ulysses grinned as he took her hand from her face and moved closer to her. "Look at me," he said as he moved even closer while gently turning her face towards him until finally he was looking into those blue eyes. Xena swallowed hard as she looked at Ulysses, "are you afraid to see me naked?" He asked and she looked at him, "no…I uh…I just…" she started saying but her eyes couldn't help but run over Ulysses' body.

Ulysses looked at her then leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, "I'm yours Xena, you can look if you want," he said then pulled back and looked at Xena who stared into his eyes. "You can touch me if you want," he whispered to her as he leaned in and kissed her softly. The kiss was a soft tasting of lips and as they kissed, Xena brought her hands up hesitantly at first then placed them on his chest. She caressed his chest as the kiss slowly deepened and her hands began to caress their way down. Her hands stopped when they reached the towel and she just caressed his waist as they continued to kiss; Ulysses could tell by Xena's touch that she was tempted and curious. They kissed a little while longer and when it ended, Ulysses looked into Xena's eyes and she looked into his. "I'm not going to pressure you but if you want to look then look," he said and Xena looked into his eyes as her hands fiddled with the towel. She was tempted very tempted but she looked up at Ulysses, "I'd rather not. I know if I do, it'll take us to a place where we…I'm not ready to go," Xena said and Ulysses nodded.

"I understand and respect that," he said then placed another kiss on her cheek before he turned around and walked over to the bed where he began putting on his pants and Xena stole a look at his butt and it was nice, round and firm making her want to walk over and grab it but she didn't. Ulysses put his shirt on but only buttoned the top button leaving some of his chest exposed and the rest of his lower chest and stomach. "You can look now," Ulysses said and Xena turned and looked at him; she walked over to the bed and went to the other side where her clothes were since she had brought a shift up earlier along with a fresh pair of clothes for in the morning. Ulysses' back was facing Xena as she undressed then put on her shift, "alright," Xena said as she got into the bed under the covers and Ulysses did the same. He lay down on his back and Xena moved into his arms; he ran his fingers up and down her back while she caressed his chest.

They lay there for a few minutes in silence then Xena raised up and looked down at Ulysses who looked at her, "what?" He asked and Xena shook her head as she looked into his eyes while caressing his cheek. Xena leaned down and kissed Ulysses' softly; the kiss was a soft tasting of lips that slowly escalated to more. They both moaned into the kiss and Xena surprised Ulysses as she pushed her tongue into his mouth and began to explore it. Ulysses held on tight to Xena and they rolled on their sides facing each other as they continued to kiss and their hands caressed each other. They lay there and kissed lazily but it felt so good to them both as time passed they inched closer and closer to each other. Xena was caressing Ulysses' back and chest and keeping his word he didn't go under her shift, he just caressed her through it. They continued to kiss until Xena bumped into Ulysses and she felt the huge bulge in his rather loose pants.

She pulled back and looked into his eyes, "does being with me always arouse you?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned, "honestly, yes. Its' not just that you're beautiful and sexy that arouses me but how much I love you and want to be with you." Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "that and you haven't had sex in a while," Xena said with a grin and Ulysses looked at her and grinned as well. "It could be that too but don't take it as a sign that I'm rushing you because I'm not," Ulysses said and Xena nodded then looked down at the bulge. "Does it hurt? I mean is it uncomfortable for you to get that way and not have release?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her as he ran his fingers through her hair, "yea it can sometimes be real uncomfortable when I'm really aroused." Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "have you been like that with me?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned at her, "oh yeah and you cause me to be a little bit worse but I deal with it." Ulysses said and Xena just looked at him, "what do you do for it?" Xena asked, "a very, very cold bath or swim."

Ulysses said and Xena nodded then leaned in and kissed Ulysses softly and when the kiss ended Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes, "I'm curios," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he looked into her eyes. "About?" He asked and Xena looked down and Ulysses nodded then leaned in and placed a kiss on Xena's neck, "what else do you want to know?" Ulysses asked and Xena moaned as Ulysses sucked on her neck and she brought her hand up to his neck where she held him there. "Can I touch you?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned against Xena's neck, "against my better judgment," he said and Xena pulled back and looked into Ulysses' eyes as her hand slowly traveled down until she was touching the bulge. Ulysses placed soft kisses on Xena's cheek and neck, trying to keep his mind off of what Xena was doing, hoping he wouldn't become more aroused especially when her hand held him completely.

'_He's really hard and from the feel of it he's big but I've got to see it. Its not like I haven't seen a man before but I want to see this man, my man'_ Xena thought to herself and since she was sure her hands went down to his pants and she loosened the draw string. "Uh…what are you doing?" Ulysses asked as he stopped kissing Xena, "I want to see you," she said as she began pulling his pants down. "I…wait…I don't think that's…Xena hold on," Ulysses said grabbing his pants and stopping her from pulling them down and she looked at him. "What's the matter?" Xena asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "its one thing to want to touch me through my pants, I can keep my mind off of that, but if you're looking at me and then you touch me…Xena I don't know if I can handle that," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "I thought you said you were mine," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "I am, I don't deny that but Xena you don't know what you're asking." Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes, "I think I do. I want to see you Ulysses, touch you maybe even bring you pleasure.

I'm not ready for us to make love yet but I do want to know how some things feel before it does happen. I told you I'm curious, I want to know things and feel things. Let me touch you and you can touch me," Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes, "what if it goes beyond that? What if we make love and we're not ready for it?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him. "We'll stop before then," Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes seeing that this was what she wanted so he let out a breath and removed his hands. "You're in control Xena, we stop when you're ready to stop," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "Thank you," Xena said then went back to pulling his pants down until he sprung free; she pushed his pants down to his knees then looked at him. He was very hard and very erect as he stood to attention, Xena looked at him then reached out and touched him a little surprised at the warmth.

Ulysses let out a breath as he lay on his back and tried his best not to react to Xena's touch. Xena was curious indeed as she ran her finger over his shaft feeling the muscles. She ran her fingers down to his balls where she caressed them and couldn't help as she squeezed them. "Uh," Ulysses let out a breath and Xena looked at him, "did that hurt?" She asked and he swallowed hard as he shook his head. Xena examined his testicles a while longer then went back up to his shaft, where she ran her finger up to the tip and caressed it. Ulysses closed his eyes tighter as she continued to examine him but try as he might he couldn't hold his moans in. Xena looked at Ulysses then lay down next to him and kissed him. When the kiss ended she looked into his eyes, "show me how to pleasure you," she said and he looked at her then leaned forward and reclaimed her lips. As they kissed Ulysses took his hand and wrapped it around Xena's hand that was holding his shaft. His hand told her to squeeze and as she squeezed he moved her hand up and down.

Ulysses moaned into the kiss and Xena ended the kiss to look at Ulysses then down at their hands, "like this?" She asked and he moaned and nodded then leaned in and started kissing on her neck. "You're so hard, so big," Xena said and Ulysses moaned as he turned Xena's face towards his then leaned in and kissed her softly. They shared a soft, passionate tasting of lips as Xena continued to pleasure Ulysses. Five minutes passed and they continued to taste each other's lips while Xena continued to pleasure Ulysses. "Ummm," Ulysses moaned as he stopped a kiss then leaned back in and resumed. Xena had a pretty good idea of what to do to make him release so she squeezed her hand tighter and moved her motions faster. "Sss…Ah," Ulysses moaned as he ended the kiss and just lay back on the bed. Xena looked at Ulysses as she continued to pleasure him like that for a few more minutes then slowed down her strokes but still squeezed hard.

"Ah…Xena," Ulysses moaned as he brought his hands up and held his pillows while his legs bent and he turned his head as he moaned. Xena looked down at Ulysses' penis and saw a little fluid escape the slit on his head; it was as if she couldn't help herself as she moved down a little then leaned her head down and ran her tongue over his head, collecting the fluid on her tongue and she moaned at its taste. Ulysses opened his eyes in surprise and looked at Xena as she tasted his head, "Unnnngh," he moaned as he threw his head back in pleasure. Xena had just engulfed his entire shaft and she was moaning as she pleasured him.

When she was finished, she sucked on his balls for a while then kissed her way back up to his shaft and continued to suck him. Three minutes later Ulysses groaned loudly and Xena was a little surprised when her mouth was filled with his hot seed and she thought about spitting it out but she remembered from earlier how good he tasted so she swallowed some of it down and let the rest run from her mouth. She continued to suck him for all he was worth and Ulysses groaned one more time as the last of his release escaped him. He lay on the bed breathing hard with a light sheen of sweat covering his body and his hands that were in Xena's hair were now on her back caressing her shoulders.

She looked up at Ulysses as she held him in her hands while cleaning the tip of his shaft and when she was done she grabbed the towel Ulysses used earlier to dry off with, from the floor, and wiped his private area off. When she was done she dropped the towel back to the floor then moved up back by Ulysses, laying next to him. She ran her finger over his chest and he turned his head and looked at her, "that was amazing," he said and she grinned. "Really? You're probably just saying that to spare my feeling but I know you've had women who could do better." Xena said and Ulysses sat up some as he shook his head. "No I'm serious Xena, that was amazing. Women have pleasured me that way before yes, but they were never as good as you. I had to show them how to please me and you just knew, you did things to me that I loved and I didn't even know I loved them. I have never expressed my pleasure like I have with you tonight," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him.

"I'm glad that I pleasured you like you like, and thank you for giving me the chance and letting me be curios," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Any time you want to be curios again, you just let me know," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him. "I really enjoyed myself," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he leaned in, "good," he said then kissed her softly. He could taste himself on her lips and he delighted in it. They lay there and kissed for a while and then Ulysses brought his hand up and began pushing the strap to Xena's shift down. She ended the kiss and looked at him, "you touch me, I touch you," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes and nodded. "If you don't want me to…" he started and Xena shook her head, "no, I want you to." She said and he nodded then leaned back in and kissed Xena and as they kissed he pushed the straps down her arms and Xena took one arm out and then the other. The shift fell to her waist and Ulysses still continued to taste her lips as his hand went from her shoulder to her neck and down to her chest.

Xena was beginning to breathe a little fast with anticipation and fear. She ended the kiss and looked at Ulysses, she had to look into his eyes as he touched her. "I'm not going to hurt you," Ulysses whispered to her as he brought his hand down to her breasts; he ran his fingers over the globe then over her nipple watching as that small touch made her nipple hardened. Ulysses grabbed her entire globe with care and Xena closed her eyes as she moaned and Ulysses took his eyes from Xena and looked down at her breasts which were for a lack of a better word perfect. They were nice, full, medium sized round breasts with a pink rosy nipple. He squeezed the globe letting her get use to the feeling then went a little further and began squeezing her nipple. "Ah…" Xena moaned in surprise at the thousands of tiny feelings of pleasure shot from her nipple down to the area between her legs. She moaned again as Ulysses continued to do that and she grabbed Ulysses' arm holding on. Ulysses looked at Xena's nipple and they looked so delicious and so inviting he had to taste them.

"Xena I'm gonna put my mouth on your breast," Ulysses said and Xena nodded and just held on tighter to Ulysses' arm as she awaited the feeling. He leaned forward and placed kisses all around the globe and he grinned as he could tell Xena was waiting for him to suck her into his mouth, by the way she rubbed her hand up and down his arm and pulled on him a little. Xena waited anxiously, especially since she felt his breath on her nipple; he made her wait a moment longer then finally wrapped his lips around her erect nipple. "Ummm," Xena moaned and Ulysses caressed her back as he sucked on her nipple softly at first then started adding a little firmness. Ulysses alternated from breast to breast and continued to suck and stimulate Xena's breasts until she was on her back breathing hard, feeling a pressure building inside of her that needed to be released but she didn't know how to release it.

"Ulysses," Xena called and he stopped from kissing her neck which he was doing to give her some time to calm down. "Yea," he answered and she looked at him, "I have this feeling inside of me, it's like a pressure building up and it needs to be released, otherwise I'm gonna explode." Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he placed a kiss on her cheek, "I can make that feeling go away, I can release that pleasure," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "Please," she said and he grinned then leaned down and kissed her and she wrapped her arm around his shoulder, pulling him to her as they kissed. As they kissed, Ulysses slowly ran his hand down Xena's stomach to her underwear. He caressed the area just above the band before he slowly slid his hand inside. He could feel that Xena kept her hair cut really short and he caressed it then slowly slid his hand lower until his fingers slid between her lips into her warm wetness.

"Unngh," Xena moaned as she ended the kiss and looked at Ulysses who looked at her. He continued to look at her as he began stroking her and Xena moaned in pleasure. She grabbed Ulysses' arm tightly then leaned in and kissed him again and as she tasted his lips, he rubbed her clit making her hips jerk in pleasure as she moaned loudly into the kiss. _'Gods this feels so good I want to feel more'_ she thought to herself then ended the kiss and grabbed her underwear pulling them down her legs. Ulysses watched her as she did that in a rush and he grinned as he leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek and jaw; when Xena finally had her underwear off she raised Ulysses' face and kissed him passionately moaning as he continued to stroke her. "Touch me more, explore me," Xena told Ulysses when the kiss ended and Ulysses grinned as he leaned in and kissed her again. When the kiss ended he looked at her, "lay back and relax, I promise you'll enjoy this," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him as she lay back, let out a breath and relaxed.

Ulysses sat up and looked at Xena, "open your legs a little wider," Ulysses said and Xena opened her legs and Ulysses could tell she was nervous by the way she opened them. "Relax," he said as he pushed her leg outward and he looked down at her cunt as he spread her lips open with his fingers of one hand and explored her with the fingers of his other hand. "Unnnngh…un…un," Xena moaned as she rubbed herself into Ulysses' fingers; her eyes were closed and head turned to the side as one hand gripped the sheets and the other ran over Ulysses' back. "Ooh…you're so wet," he moaned as he stroked her, "so beautiful," he said as he looked at how open she was for him. Ulysses stroked and caressed her all over, his fingers covered in her essence and she was smelling so good. He caressed her clit and Xena's head slammed back into the pillow as she moaned loudly while her nails dug into his back.

Xena could feel that pressure building up more and more; a few minutes passed and Ulysses stopped stroking Xena and lay down next to her and kissed her deeply, softly and passionately. When the kiss ended Xena looked at Ulysses, "don't stop," she said and he grinned at her. "I'm not, I just want to do something with you so that we both can enjoy it," he said then lay down flat down on his back. "Come here," he said as he held out his hand to Xena and she took it and straddled his stomach and Ulysses guided her until she was pushed back enough that his erect cock was pressed tightly against her butt. "Open yourself then sit back down holding yourself open," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him as she used her fingers to open her lips then lowered herself back down onto Ulysses' stomach and she felt her clit rub against his hard stomach. He grinned as he saw the pleasure on her face. Ulysses took his cock and parted Xena's cheeks, slipping it in between them so that when she moved she rubbed against it.

"Move against me," Ulysses said as he looked into Xena's eyes; he held her waist and her hands were on his chest as she began to rock back and forth rubbing her clit against his hard stomach and she moaned as she felt the pleasure radiate through her body. Ulysses looked at her and grinned then moaned as she started stimulating him; after a while Ulysses sat up and wrapped his arms around Xena who wrapped her arms around him as they kissed. As time passed Ulysses kissed and sucked on her breasts but they always kissed. Soon Xena began moving herself harder and faster against Ulysses and he moaned as he caressed her back then held her tightly. "Un…Un…Un…Ummm," Xena moaned as she held Ulysses' tightly while moving harder and faster against him. "Ulysses…Unngh…I feel," Xena moaned as she began feeling the beginnings of her release and he moaned as he felt that he was real close too. "Let it come, I've got you," he said then pulled back and looked into her eyes before he leaned in and kissed her softly but passionately.

"Ah…Ah…Unnnngh," Xena moaned when she broke the kiss and her release ran through her body as she wrapped her arms tightly around Ulysses, pulling him closer as she moaned into his neck while continuing to move against him. Ulysses moaned as he held onto Xena and with a few more of her movements, he groaned loudly in pleasure as he released his seed spurting all over her butt. Ulysses moaned as he felt Xena's wetness seep from her onto him and when their releases ended they continued to hold each other tightly Xena placing kisses on Ulysses' shoulder and neck, still feeling remnants of the pleasure left in her body but it was enough to make her want more. So she began moving against him hard and fast like she had never stopped and Ulysses moaned as he held onto her and she stimulated him more. Xena moaned in Ulysses' ear and he moaned into hers; five minutes later Xena released and her essence ran from her to Ulysses' stomach. Ulysses continued to hold Xena close and he kissed her neck as he stroked himself; he parted Xena's cheeks and she pulled back and looked at him and he looked at her as he moaned and groaned until he released.

His seed squirted all onto Xena's butt and Ulysses stroked himself a couple more times making sure he was done. Xena looked at him and he looked at her both leaning in for a kiss. When the kiss ended Ulysses lay down and Xena lay down on top of him. Ulysses caressed her back as they lay there in silence in such an intimate position, "that was wonderful," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he caressed her head. "Yes it was but when the day comes when we make love trust me you'll think this doesn't even compare to what we'll feel." Ulysses said and Xena nodded then pushed into Ulysses as she got a little more comfortable. He could see she was sleepy so he placed a kiss on her forehead and continued to caress her back as he watched her dose off to sleep and he watched her sleep for a while before he finally stop fighting his own sleep and let it claim him. When morning came Xena woke first and she took in her surroundings remembering she was in Ulysses' room and then she looked down at Ulysses who she still lay on.

He was sleeping soundly and peacefully that she smiled at him then carefully ran her fingers through his hair. She smiled as she remembered last night and it was great, she then bent down and placed a kiss on his cheek. Ulysses moaned and tightened his hold on Xena but didn't wake up and Xena just grinned as she lay her head back down on his chest. She lay there for about twenty minutes listening to his even breathing and his strong beating heart. She began caressing his chest with her fingers and he slowly began to wake up, "mmmm," he moaned then opened his eyes and looked up at Xena. "Good morning," she said and he smiled at her. "Good morning indeed," he said and they grinned at each other as they leaned in for a soft passionate good morning kiss. The kiss was a tasting of lips and when it ended their lips lingered on each others and Xena grinned, "you know I might be ready to make love sooner than I thought," she said and he grinned at her. "Oh yeah?" He asked and she nodded, "yea. I was a little afraid last night but I conquered that fear because I knew you wouldn't hurt me, you would only love me."

She said and he smiled at her, "that's all I'll ever want to do my love," he said and Xena smiled then leaned in and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended she rested her forehead against his as she caressed his face and he caressed her back, "I wish this didn't have to end," she said and he looked into her eyes. "It doesn't have to, I can stay with you tonight," he said and she grinned as she looked into his eyes. "Okay but even though I enjoyed last night very much I don't want a repeat, I'd rather wait until we make love before we have another night like that." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her and nodded, "okay I have no problems with that," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him as she leaned down and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended she looked into his eyes, "I wonder if the gods know what they've given up. You're such a wonderful man Ulysses, much better than the average guy. Women and the world would be alright if there were more men like you in it."

Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he caressed her cheek, "I can say the same about you. A good man needs a great, loving, strong, understanding woman by his side to help him and comfort him. And you are definitely that Xena," Ulysses said and she just smiled at him then kissed him again. When the kiss ended she rolled off of him, "we need to take a bath and there is still a lot that needs to be done before the festival which is three days away." Xena said and she put on her clothes and Ulysses grinned and nodded as he sat up and put on his clothes and they headed downstairs to the bathing room. They each took showers but in separate stalls and when they were done, Xena headed to her room to put on clean clothes and Ulysses headed back to his room to do the same. By the time Xena got to the kitchen, the Inn was already real busy so she went to work taking bites from an apple just to have something in her stomach.

Ulysses came down and ate a little something then had to get to work so he left out of the kitchen back door, placing a kiss on Xena's cheek as he walked by and she grinned at him. The next couple of days went by pretty much the same; the days exhausted everyone but Xena looked forward to the nights for more than sleep. It was her chance to be with Ulysses in the night like they hadn't been in the day. She would be glad when the festival was over so that things would get back to normal with her being able to spend more time with Ulysses. "Ulysses do you dance?" Xena asked the next night as she lay in Ulysses' arms, "why do you ask?" He asked and she raised her head and looked at him, "at the festival on the third day, there's this big dance contest, great dancers come from all over to compete in it." Xena said, "and you want to join the contest?" He asked and she looked at him, "the prize is 500 hundred dinars and we could do a lot with that money around here in the Inn and in the fields."

Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he looked into Xena's eyes while he caressed her cheek, "yes I can dance, pretty well actually. It was a part of the whole rebellion thing," he said and Xena grinned at him. "Now can you dance?" He asked and she nodded, "yea," she said, "we'll see," he said and she rolled her eyes at him then lay her head back down on his shoulder. "Are you and Virgil thinking about singing at the festival? You've guys been practicing enough and I know you've been writing a few songs," Xena said and Ulysses chuckled at her. "You know all of that huh?" He asked, "I pride myself on knowing everything that goes on," Xena said as she raised her head and looked at Ulysses and he smiled and nodded. "Yes ma'am," he said and she chuckled at him. "To answer your question, no, we need more than two people and well, I just haven't thought about it." He said and Xena nodded and just lay there; they talked for a little while longer and then they both fell asleep.

The next two days were like this and on the third day everyone relaxed since the festival would be starting the next day. The day of the festival came and the Inn was still busy but everyone was out in about in the town doing different things and having a good time. Virgil and Ulysses sat around the Inn keeping an eye on things making sure there were no problems and everyone stayed civil. Xena helped her mother around the Inn and a couple of hours later when Lyceus and Toris came back it was there turn to keep their eyes on things while they went out and had some fun. "What are you gonna to do Virgil?" Ulysses asked and Virgil looked at him, "find me some women, it has been a long while," Virgil said and Ulysses smiled and nodded then watched as his friend left. Ulysses let out a breath and walked into the kitchen and over to Xena who stirring up some dough. He leaned on the counter where she stood and looked at her, "what cha' doin'?" He asked and she grinned at him as she looked at him, "making something sweet," she said and he nodded.

"Sounds good," he said and she just shook her head at him, Cyrene looked at them and saw Ulysses lean in and whispered something in Xena's ear making her chuckle as she shook her head. Ulysses looked at Xena as he moved a strand of fallen hair from in front of her face and Xena looked at him then leaned in and kissed him softly. Cyrene turned back to what she was doing and when the kiss ended Xena looked at Ulysses, "there," she said and he looked at her. "I want something else," he said and she looked at him, "and that would be?" She asked and he looked at her, "come with me to the festival. Lets look around, have fun," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "I have to stay here and help mother," she said and Ulysses looked at her. "Please," he whined, "please, please, please," he whined making Xena smile and Cyrene chuckled at him as did everyone else in the kitchen.

"Xena go with the man so he can stop whining like a puppy," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her mother, "are you sure? Its real busy out there, plus I have to finish the deserts," Xena said. "I and the other waitresses can handle it," Cyrene said, "but…" Xena said then looked at Corrinna who took the bowl from her. "I can finish these, go and have some fun," Corrinna said and Xena looked at her then at Cyrene who smiled and nodded. Xena grinned, "if you guys are sure," she said as she began taking off her apron. "We're sure," Cyrene said and Xena smiled as she wiped her face and hands then looked at Ulysses. "Let's go," she said as she took his hand and he smiled as they went out of the back door; they continued to hold hands as they walked through the town looking at different things while they talked, laughed and had a good time. When they got into the market they were countless stands up, Ulysses ought to know since he built half of them.

They stopped at some of the food stalls tasting foods and feeding them to each other, Xena fed Ulysses a sweet roll that was filled with some kind of cream and honey and when he bit into some of it oozed out and got onto his lips. Xena chuckled and Ulysses smiled as he tried to fix it with his fingers, "here let me get it," she said then leaned forward and kissed his lips tasting them and the sweetness they held. She sucked on the top one then the bottom one, kissed him softly once more then ended the kiss. Xena looked at Ulysses and he looked at her, "there all gone," she said as she wiped the bottom of his lip and he grinned at her then looked at the old woman behind the booth who grinned at them. "We'll take some of those," he said then looked at Xena who ate the other end and was grinning at Ulysses. He surprised her as he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up; she laughed then met him half way for a kiss. When the kiss ended he put her down, "thanks," Xena told the woman who smiled and nodded and watched them walk away.

"Now there's two people in love," the old woman said to her husband who walked over and looked at them Xena who was holding Ulysses' hand and leaning against his arm. "Reminds me of us," he said then placed a kiss on his wife's cheek before he sat down and she smiled at him. Xena and Ulysses continued to look at the different things that were there, stopping to glace at things making comments about them. They passed a booth where there were fabrics and clothes; Xena looked at the dresses and skirts they had, running her fingers over a blue silk dress. "That dress is made from silk from the land of Chin," the woman said and Xena looked at her then back at the dress. "It's very beautiful," she said then grinned when she felt Ulysses' arms snaked their way around her waist. "It is a beautiful dress and I bet you would look gorgeous in it," Ulysses said and Xena grinned. "Yea but I can't afford a dress like this," she said and Ulysses looked at her, "do you want the dress?" He asked her, "yea but…" Xena started saying but Ulysses' words stopped her. "Then it's yours," he said then looked at the woman, "how much for the dress?"

He asked her, "thirty five dinars," she said and Ulysses nodded and went into the pouch on his belt and pulled out the money and handed it to the woman. The lady grinned and nodded then wrapped the dress up in a cloth and handed it to Xena, "it was nice doing business with you," she said and Xena nodded. "Is there anything else you want?" Ulysses asked her and Xena looked at him, "can you afford…" she was about to ask him but he nodded, "I can," he said and Xena looked at him. "Well I won't know if there's anything else I want until I look," she said as she placed her hand on his arm and he smiled at her and they continued walking, talking and looking. They passed a booth with jewelry and while Xena looked at that booth Ulysses went to the leather booth to have him some new boots made. There weren't many things that caught Xena's eye but there was the one necklace that was intriguingly designed; it was the design it self that caught Xena's eye and it looked like it was molded out of ground up diamonds or gems making it sparkle.

"How much for this?" Xena asked the vendor and he looked at her, "ah this piece comes from a far away land. Even further than the land of Chin. It's made from pure gold and beautiful gem stones, one hundred and fifty dinars," the man said and Xena looked at him, "you can't be serious." She said and he looked at her, "this is my most prize piece miss and I'm telling the truth about where it comes from," he said and Xena looked at him then back at the necklace. It was beautiful but that was a lot of money he was asking and even though she knew Ulysses would buy it for her she didn't want to use up all of his money. Xena let out a breath and turned to see Ulysses coming her way and she couldn't help but grin, "see anything you like?" He asked and she shook her head, "not really. There were some nice things but nothing really caught my eye," Xena said and Ulysses nodded but could tell otherwise from the vendor who looked at Xena in surprise. "Well let's keep walking then," Ulysses said and that's what they did.

Ulysses bought Xena a couple more things, like a pair of shoes to go with her dress and a few small accessories for her hair. They passed a guy who drew pictures of people and sold them to the people; Ulysses stopped and looked at his work and thought he was pretty good so he looked at Xena. "You want to do it?" He asked Xena and she grinned at him, "I guess," she said and Ulysses smiled and looked at the middle aged man. "How much for a picture?" Ulysses asked and the man looked at him, "seven if you just want me to draw, fifteen if you want me to paint." The man said and Ulysses nodded, "I want one with me and her just drawn and I want one of her by herself painted," Ulysses said and Xena grinned. "If you can have a picture of me I want one of you," Xena said and Ulysses grinned. "One of me by myself painted and another with her and I painted." Ulysses said and the man nodded, "that'll be fifty two dinars," the man said and Ulysses nodded. "If it's alright with you I'll pay you after I've seen your work," Ulysses said and the man nodded.

"Of course, I understand, my name is Devon," the man said and Ulysses nodded. "Ulysses and Xena," Ulysses introduced them and the man nodded. "Okay for the drawing come over here and take your pose," Devon said and Xena and Ulysses walked over to the spot where he pointed which was a clear spot with lots of sun light. Ulysses stood behind Xena wrapping his arms around her and she smiled as she placed her hands on his arms. "That's great, stay just like that," Devon said as he sat down behind his stand then looked at them and began drawing. It took him twenty minutes to draw their picture since he was capturing every single thing. When he was finished they looked at the picture and they both really liked it, "this is great, here you go," Ulysses said as he paid Devon seven dinars and Devon took it from him then neatly rolled their picture up and put a band around it.

"Okay take your next pose," he said and this time they turned towards each other; Ulysses wrapped his arms around Xena and she placed her hands on his upper hands and they just stared into each other's eyes. "That's good but lean your heads in a little like you're going to kiss," Devon said and that's what they did. "Perfect, now hold it there," he said and began lightly drawing and when he was finished he began to add color to the important places so that he could remember what went where. After forty five minutes Devon looked at them, "you guys can relax," he said and relaxing for Xena and Ulysses was to kiss and when it ended the grinned at each other. "I'll be done in ten more minutes," he said and they nodded. It actually took twenty minutes but you can't rush perfection and when they saw the picture they definitely liked it better than the other. Ulysses paid him fifteen dinars and Devon let that one dry. "Okay who's going first?"

He asked and Xena and Ulysses looked at each other and they grinned, "you go first," they both said then chuckled at themselves. "I'll go first," they said again together and this time laughed. Devon grinned at them as he shook his head, "okay I have an idea." He said and they looked at him, "Xena it's going to take me a while to catch such beauty as yours so you go first." He said and Xena grinned and nodded. "I have a pose in mind also," Devon said, "so if you two would please follow me into my tent," he said and that's what they did. "Ulysses pick out something from over here you would love to see her in," Devon said and Ulysses nodded as he walked over to a rack of beautiful clothes and looked through them. Ulysses found a sort of sheer powder blue dress or the way it was made night gown. "How about this?" Ulysses asked Xena and she walked over to him and looked at it and found that she liked it herself, "this is good," she said then took it from him and walked over to the changing curtain where she changed and Ulysses looked at Devon who was setting up things for Xena's picture.

A couple of minutes later Xena walked out with the dress on and Ulysses looked at her, "you look gorgeous," he said and Xena grinned as she looked at him. Ulysses looked at the dress and it was see through in some places like her thighs and the tops of her breasts, not that you could tell since the dress showed quite of bit of cleavage. The straps were a little wide and her arms were out since the dress was sleeveless and it fell just below her knees. "Okay Xena, come over here and lay down," Devon said pointing to the burgundy lounger he had in the tent. Xena sat down then lay down on the white pillow, "okay turn on your side facing me," Devon said and Xena turned. Devon stood back and looked at her, "take off her shoes," he told Ulysses who walked over to Xena and took off her boots sitting them off to the side. "Okay I'm just going to fix you a little bit," Devon said as he walked over to her.

"Ulysses you want a sexy yet loving pose?" Devon asked and Ulysses nodded, "yea, that's exactly right," Ulysses said and Devon nodded. Devon brought Xena's knees up a little then pulled one strap down her arm some; he pushed her hair back to her back on one side then had her place her hand underneath the pillow helping to elevate her head some and to give it that natural pose. He fixed the dress a little bit then stood back and looked at Xena, "I love it," Ulysses said and Devon nodded.

"So do I," he said then walked over to his stool where his canvas was, "Ulysses I need you to stand behind me," Devon said and that's what Ulysses' did. "Okay Xena relax and look into Ulysses' eyes, let the love you have for him shine through your eyes." Devon said and when Xena did that he began drawing; Devon was right this picture would take longer than the others as he drew down every last tiny detail. When he was done he began adding the colors; an hour and a half later he was finally finished and Xena put her clothes back on then went and looked at the picture and thought it was pretty. "This is really good," Ulysses said as he looked at it then paid Devon giving him five extra for the great work.

"Your turn," Xena told Ulysses and he grinned at her, "okay, how do you want me?" He asked with a double meaning that Xena caught onto and she grinned at him. "Any and every way possible but right now I just want you to take off your shirt," Xena said and Ulysses smiled at her and nodded then pulled his shirt out of his pants and began unbuttoning it. He pulled his shirt off and threw it on the sofa then looked at Xena, "now what?" He asked her with a grin and she smiled at him as she took his hand and led him over to the base of a tree the tent had been built around.

"Sit," she told him and he sat down by the tree and leaned back against it, "raise one leg up," Xena told him and Ulysses bent his leg and raised it up. "Rest your arm on that leg," Xena said and Ulysses' arm rested on the leg he just raised with his hand hanging over. "Now what?" Ulysses asked, "don't move," Xena said then grinned as she leaned down and kissed him passionately. Ulysses moaned as she ran her fingers through his hair, then gripped it pulling him closer as she tasted his lips. When the kiss ended she quickly stood, "capture that look Devon," Xena said and Devon grinned as he sat down and began to work trying his best to capture that dazed look in on Ulysses' face and that I'm so in love look in his eyes.

It took Devon an hour to do Ulysses picture and when he was finished Xena looked at it and smiled, "oh that is so right," Xena said as she chuckled and Devon smiled. "What?" Ulysses asked as he put on his shirt and walked over to the canvas to see, "I do not look like that," he said and Xena grinned and nodded. "When I kiss you like that, you do," she said and he looked at her, "I do not," he said and she smiled at him and he smiled at her. "Alright I do but you know you kiss so good," Ulysses said and Xena smiled as she ran her hand over his arm. "Thanks Devon, these pictures are really great," Xena said as Ulysses paid Devon and he smiled at them. "Thank you, you two have been my best customers all day," he said and they smiled at him. Ulysses picked up their things they bought earlier and Xena picked up the four pictures and they headed out of the tent.

They continued walking and talking until Ulysses passed a tent that caught his interest, "let's stop in here," Ulysses said and Xena followed him into the tent. Ulysses looked around that the different words, saying and symbols that were on a parchment for all to see. "You want a tattoo?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, "yea, I've always wanted one but I didn't know what to get tattooed." He said and they turned their heads as a man walked from behind a curtain of beads, "how can I help you?" He asked and Ulysses looked at the man, "I want to get a tattoo, how much do you charge?" Ulysses asked and the old man looked at him, "depends on what you get," he said and Ulysses nodded. Xena walked over to Ulysses and ran her hand over her arm, "what are you going to get and where?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, "I want it on my upper arm but I don't know what to get. I want to get a saying but I want it to really mean something to me, something down to my heart and soul."

He said and Xena nodded as she looked into Ulysses' eyes and he looked into hers; the old man looked at them and grinned to himself. "Dangerously in love," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him a grin appearing on her face, "what?" She asked and he grinned at her as he caressed her cheek, "I'm so in love with you, Dangerously in love; you mean so much to me, I would do anything for you. Kill for you, die for you, steal for you, lie for you," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him. "I know we're meant to be together and I'd die if I lost you. You are my world, I love you so much it hurts; I'm Dangerously in love." He said and Xena smiled at him, "I like that," she said. "You do?" He asked and she nodded as she leaned in and kissed him and when the kiss ended Ulysses smiled then looked at the old man. "How much would it cost to get that around my upper arm and I want a dash after it then an X." Ulysses said and the man nodded as he began to write that on a piece of parchment, "it'll cost you about twenty dinars," he said and Ulysses nodded then went to sit down in the chair next to where the man was sitting.

When he was finished writing it on the parchment he made sure the ink was dry then placed the parchment on Ulysses' arm wrapping it around his upper arm like Ulysses wanted it. Next he grabbed a wet sponge and wet the parchment pretty thoroughly pressing down on it and when he removed it he had a copy of what he wrote on Ulysses' arm which gave him an outline for what he was about to do. "Hey what's your name?" Ulysses asked the man, "Wan," the man answered and Ulysses nodded as he watched the man pour what was obviously the permanent black ink into a small bowl then clean four very skinny, sharp needles that were buddle together. "Um and how long have you been doing this?" Ulysses asked starting to get a little nervous and Wan looked at him, "since I can remember. Now sit very still and don't jump, this is going to hurt," he said and Ulysses looked at him. "I think I changed my mind," he said and Xena grinned at him as she sat down on his lap pulling his other arm around her.

"Relax," she told him and Ulysses let out a breath which made him feel a lot better. "Okay you can go head," Ulysses told the man and Wan dipped the needles into the ink then went back to Ulysses' arm where he pressed the needles in hard to Ulysses' skin as he began to slowly trace the outline. "Shit," Ulysses cursed but he didn't jump and Xena ran her fingers through her hair in a soothing manner and held his hand that he did squeeze but not to bad. She leaned down and placed soft kisses on his cheek and chin, "I love you so much," she whispered in his ear trying to keep his mind off of the pain. Ulysses turned his face towards her and looked into her eyes before he leaned in and kissed her; the kiss they shared was a soft, passionate, tasting of lips that they both enjoyed. Wan grinned as he saw them and he continued his work wiping the excess ink of with a cloth. Xena moaned into the kiss as she brought her hand up to Ulysses' cheek, caressing it as the kiss began to deepen. Ulysses remembered not to move his other arm but he held Xena tightly with the arm that wasn't in use.

The kiss ended when Ulysses hissed in pain and looked at Wan who was starting on the next letter; Xena leaned forward and started kissing on Ulysses' neck, distracting him again and sometime later they started kissing again. The pain was bad but it wasn't that bad when Xena was keeping Ulysses distracted. Forty five minutes later Wan was finished and Ulysses looked at him as he used a cloth and put oil onto Ulysses' arm where the tattoo now was. Ulysses looked at it as did Xena, "I think that's pretty good, that's much better than some I've seen," Xena said. "That's a whole lot better than I've seen and I've seen a lot," Ulysses said. "Like I said, I've been doing this ever since I can remember," Wan said as he wrapped Ulysses' arm where the tattoo was in a bandage. "This bandage can come off tomorrow, just make sure for the next couple of weeks you keep the area oiled good. Your skin will start peeling a little bit but don't worry about that, as long as you keep oil on it until it heals, you'll be fine."

Wan said and Ulysses nodded then handed Wan his money, "thanks," Ulysses said and Wan nodded and watched as they left his tent. "Let's go back to the Inn, we can do more tomorrow," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. The walked in through the back door where everyone was sitting down eating dinner, "we were beginning to wonder if you guys were coming back," Lyceus said and Xena grinned at her brother then at Ulysses as he pulled his chair out and she sat down and he sat down next to her. "Did you two have a good time?" Cyrene asked and Xena grinned, "yea, we had a really good time," Xena said then looked down at the rolled up pictures on her laps. She found the drawing of her and Ulysses and unrolled it so the other's could see, "look at this," Xena said as she handed it to her mother and Cyrene smiled at the picture. "This is nice," she said then handed it to Corrinna, "there's a guy there, his name is Devon and he did a great job," Ulysses said and Corrinna nodded. "I see," she said, "you haven't seen anything," he said then grinned as he picked up the picture with Xena by herself and handed it to Corrinna.

"Look at that," Ulysses said and Corrinna broke out into a smile as she saw the picture, "this is beautiful," she said then looked at Xena, "you look gorgeous," Corrinna said and Xena grinned at her. "Cyrene look at how beautiful she is," Corrinna said as she handed Cyrene the picture and Cyrene smiled. "You hungry?" Xena asked Ulysses who nodded so Xena stood and went over to the stove where she fixed herself and Ulysses a plate of food. "Who knew I had a hot sister," Toris said, "Toris that's gross," Xena said as she passed by her brother and pushed his head. She walked over to Ulysses placing his plate in front of him and he grinned as she ran her fingers through his hair then walked back over to the counter to grab her plate. "Show them your picture Ulysses," Xena said and he unrolled his picture and handed it to Cyrene, "whoa Ulysses don't you look hot," Cyrene said and Xena chuckled while Ulysses smiled.

"Thanks for the food," Ulysses whispered to Xena then placed a kiss on her forehead and she grinned at him; they passed around the other pictures and when they were done Xena rolled them back up, placing the band back around them. It was a great dinner with the whole family there especially since Cyrene considered Ulysses and Virgil family and while they ate they talked, joked and laughed just having a good old time. "Hey Ulysses what did you do you your arm?" Virgil asked seeing the bandage around it and Ulysses looked at him. "I got a tattoo," Ulysses said, "no, really?" Virgil asked with delight in his eyes and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "You've been wanting to get one for ages what made you get one now?" Virgil asked, "I found something that really means a lot to me so I got it tattooed on my arm," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "So what did you get?" Toris asked and Ulysses grinned at him, "you'll see tomorrow when I take the bandage off," Ulysses said. "Did it hurt?" Lyceus asked and Ulysses looked at him, "ah…it hurt like tartarus when he first stuck me and then, well after that I was too occupied to feel the pain that much."

Ulysses said then looked at Xena who grinned at him, they talked around the table a while more and then when it got later everyone went their own way, Virgil going to into the dinning area to find a woman to pick up on and Ulysses had no doubt he would find one. Meanwhile Xena went to check on Argo which meant she would probably be a while so he went down to her room where he got ready for bed and just laid in the bed and thought. His thoughts going to his family and how he was missing them terribly but he tried not to show it or feel it. An hour later Xena walked into her room closing the door behind her, "sorry I was so long, I let time get away from me," Xena said. "It's alright, I knew you wanted to spend some time with Argo," Ulysses said as he looked up at the ceiling, his feelings of missing his family still there. Xena got ready for bed then turned around and looked at Ulysses who was still staring up at the ceiling.

She walked over to the bed and got into it laying on her side and she looked at him, "are you okay?" Xena asked him and he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her. "Yea…yea I'm fine," he said as he looked at her and Xena looked into his eyes and could see something was wrong, she could see that something was bothering him. She reached her hand out and caressed his cheek. "Tell me what's wrong," she said and he looked at her and let out a breath as he turned on his side to face her. "I miss my family," he said as he looked down then looked up at Xena. "Do you want to go home?" She asked and he looked into her eyes and shook his head, "no. I guess I would if I thought things would be different, would be better but no I don't want to go home. This is my home now, with you," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "You must miss them terribly," Xena said and Ulysses grinned then let out a breath, "yea." He said then looked at Xena, "would you come with me if I went back home or even if I just leave here and travel around the world. Would you come with me?"

Ulysses asked and Xena looked into his eyes as she continued to caress his cheek, "yes I would," she said and he looked at her. "Really? You would leave your family, all that you've ever known and just come with me?" Ulysses asked and Xena nodded, "I would miss my family I don't doubt that. I would try to make money so I could send it to them but Ulysses…" Xena said then let out a breath as she scooted closer. "You are my home now, I truly feel that in my heart; I believe I would be lost without you, I want to be with you no matter what. Come what may remember?" She said and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "come what may," he said then leaned in and kissed Xena softly. "I love you," Ulysses said and Xena grinned, "I love you," she said and they held each other that night and that's the way they fell asleep and woke up.

The next day was pretty much the same with Ulysses and Xena going out into town and having fun. "Their having music this evening," Xena told Ulysses as they walked hand and hand and Xena ate a candied apple Ulysses bought for her. He looked at her and grinned, "I'm not singing Xena," he said and she looked at him. "Why not? You're really good," she said and Ulysses nodded, "for that matter so are you so why don't you get up there and sing?" He asked and she hunched her shoulders, "I don't love music as much as you do. I can see the passion for it in your eyes," Xena said and Ulysses couldn't help but grin and nod as they continued to lazily walk amongst the town. "You know what I think? I think you're scared that you'll get up there and you'll do great. So great that you'll fall in love with it and want to travel around the world singing," Xena said with a grin and Ulysses chuckled at her. "You're probably right but that's not a fear I'll be conquering any time too soon," Ulysses said and Xena nodded.

He looked at her and smiled, "can I have a bite?" He asked and she grinned as she brought the apple up to his mouth and he took a bite out; Xena grinned then placed a kiss on Ulysses' arm, "you know this tattoo looks really sexy on you," Xena said as she looked at the black letters and Ulysses grinned. "Is that so?" He asked and she grinned and nodded, "well maybe I ought to go get another," he said and she smiled at him. "What would it be this time? My name over your heart?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, "Xena this tattoo on my arm says dangerously in love. If you suggest something like that I'm liable to go and get it," Ulysses said and she chuckled at him. "What about if I get a tattoo?" Xena asked, "well you already have one but you won't let me or anyone else see it for that matter," Ulysses said referring to the tattoo that was on Xena's right shoulder but she kept it covered by a black leather band. "You know why I can't let you see it," Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "I was just saying you had a tattoo."

Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "what about if I got the same thing you have in the same place?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her. "At the risk of sounding like a controlling freak, I don't want you to get any more tattoos. I like you just the way you are unmarked, so beautiful with the softest skin I've ever felt." He said as he ran his fingers over Xena's arm and since they had walked into the town square they sat down on a bale of hay and Xena looked at Ulysses. "What if it was your mark I was getting?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked into her eyes, "maybe but…" he said and Xena grinned and nodded. "You would rather not," she said and he nodded, "but it's your body, Xena you do what you want, I'm just telling you how I feel and hope you would do the same, if I did or was about to do something you don't approve of. I value and respect your opinion, it means a lot to me," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "as does your opinion."

She said and they continued to sit there and talk and laugh and as it got late the square began to fill up with people who wanted to see the group the town elder got to perform. "Come on let's go up to the front so we can have a better view," Ulysses said as he took Xena's hand and they made their way through the crowd making their way to the front. "Hey Virgil when did you get here?" Ulysses asked his friend, "a while a go. I'm here with the beautiful and talented Candice," Virgil said as he introduced the woman on his arm and Ulysses grinned at her and smiled at Virgil. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Ulysses said and Virgil smiled and nodded. "I'm having a great time," he said and then they looked towards the stage where the band began coming onto the stage. The elder got a group whose music was popular and would bring people to Amphipolis it just was the type of music elders were use to. Xena grinned and nodded as she listened to the way they played the lyres and the drums. Ulysses held Xena from behind as he watched them play as well and then the head singer began to sing a song and the crowd was loving it.

"Virgil we've got to get us some more people so we can be as good as they are," Ulysses yelled to his friend and Virgil nodded as he watched with fascination as well; he too held Candice from behind. When the band was finished their song they did another and when the song ended they left the stage. "See that's the kind of music I want to be able to play," Ulysses said, "well I've heard you and Virgil play that kind of music and you're good," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her. "Yea but we're no where near as good as those guys." Ulysses said; about ten minutes passed and the crowd was starting to get restless as they waited for the band to come back out. A couple more minutes passed and things really started getting rough, "we should go see what's going on before things get crazy," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as they hopped up onto the stage then walked towards the back. "Mason what's going on?" Xena asked the elder and he looked at her, "Xena, gods things are a mess. The lead singer in real sick, Mary just took him to the inn to see Corrinna but without him the band doesn't have anyone to sing their songs.

And the crowd is getting upset, I promised the people this band," the old man said and he began to get frantic. "Calm down Mason it'll be alright," she said and he looked at her. "How? How is it going to be alright? Those people out there are gonna start tearing things up in a few minutes," he cried. "Don't you guys have a back up singer?" Ulysses asked the other band members, "usually but he had to go home to see about his ill father," one said and Ulysses let out a breath. Xena stood there thinking as she comforted the old man who was fast becoming an emotional wreck. "How fast can you guys pick up music?" Xena asked, "pretty fast, just as long as we're shown a couple of notes," the same one who spoke up earlier said and Xena nodded then looked at Ulysses who looked at her. "Oh no Xena, I'm not doing it, I'm not going to get up there and sing," Ulysses said and she looked at him. "Come on Ulysses this is a real emergency. Do you hear those people out there? If we don't do something quick this is going to become a really big problem," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Oh Ulysses please if you can sing please go out there and do it, I swear I'll forever be in your debut," Mason said as he walked over to Ulysses grabbing his shirt as he spoke and Ulysses let out a breath. "Are you guys sure you can pick up on the music?" Ulysses asked and they nodded and he let out another breath, "I need Virgil," Ulysses said to Xena and she nodded and went to get Ulysses' best friend. "Alright Xena I'm here," Virgil fussed as Xena pulled him. "What in the world in going on?" Virgil asked and Ulysses looked at him, "hopefully we're about to perform a miracle," Ulysses said then looked at Xena. "How fast can you run to the Inn…" he started saying, "already there," Xena yelled as she jumped off the stage and ran for the Inn. "Virgil I want you on the drums," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him, "what in the world is going on?" Virgil asked and Ulysses looked at him, "we're about to sing the song we've been working on and hope the crowd loves it, otherwise we're gonna be in big trouble."

Ulysses said and Virgil just looked at him; meanwhile Xena ran as fast as she could to the inn. She ran in through the back door and her mother and Corrinna looked at the blur. When Xena came back down a minute later with Ulysses' lyre in her hand they stopped her, "hey, whoa, what's going on?" Cyrene asked, "the lead singer of the band Mason got is sick," Xena said and Corrinna nodded. "I know, he has a bad stomach virus, I just sent him up to his room," she said and Xena nodded, "well the crowd is getting upset. They want music and they want music now, so I've convinced Ulysses to sing, hoping it'll calm them down," Xena said and then she was gone. Cyrene and Corrinna looked at her each other, "I've gotta see this," Cyrene said and Corrinna nodded, "I was thinking the same thing." She said and they both took off their aprons, "Dana take over while we're gone we shouldn't be long," Cyrene said to the young woman who was her back up cooker when either she or Xena weren't there.

Xena ran back to the square and jumped back onto the stage, "here," she said as she handed Ulysses his lyre and he grinned as he took it from her. "Thank you, you're amazing," Ulysses said as he leaned in and gave her a kiss then put the strap that held the lyre around his neck and it hung on his shoulder the lyre down by his stomach. "Okay you guys remember what we showed you?" Ulysses asked and they nodded, "we got it," one said and Ulysses nodded. "Can you guys get out here, these people are getting crazy," Virgil said as he looked back at them and they nodded and headed out onto the stage. "Wish me luck," Ulysses said to Xena and she grinned at him, "you don't need it but good luck," she said then leaned in and kissed him softly before she walked out onto the stage and hoped down to the spot where they were before. Ulysses let out a breath and walked onto the stage and looked out at all of the people the walked over to the microphone.

"I know you guys came here to see Dante and his crew but Dante is real sick and not wanting to disappoint you guys he did two songs for you while he was feeling real bad. However, he's unable to do more than that so he asked me personally to fill in for him just until he gets better. So if you guys don't mind," Ulysses said as he looked out at the crowd which had calmed down and was quiet as he started talking. Ulysses swallowed hard then let out a breath as he held his lyre in his hand getting ready to start playing, "this song is for everyone out there who thinks they have to be someone they were told to be." Ulysses said and then he began playing on his lyre and then Virgil came in with the drums and the others fell in as well then Ulysses began singing.

"I don't need to be anything other…than a prison guards son. I don't need to be anything other…than a fisherman's son. I don't have to be anyone other…than the birth of two souls in one…part of where I'm going…is knowing where I'm coming from." Ulysses sung and when he started the chorus the crowd really started getting into it which made Ulysses relax and he started enjoying playing the song and singing. "I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately…all I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind. I'm tired of looking round rooms wondering what I've got to do or who I'm supposed to be. I don't want to be anything other than…me." When the chorus was finished they played music for about a minute and the crowd loved it and so did Ulysses and he looked down at Xena who smiled at him and he smiled back at her. "He's great," Cyrene said startling her daughter and Xena looked at her, "yea he is," she said and they continued to listen to the rest of the song.

"I'm surrounded by liars…everyone I turn, I'm surrounded by imposters…everywhere I turn. I'm surrounded by identity crisis…everywhere I turn…am I the only one who noticed…I can't be the only one who's learned. I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately…all I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind. I'm tired of looking round rooms wondering what I've got to do or who I'm supposed to be. I don't want to be anything other than me." Ulysses sung and then he really started getting into the song being able to feel the words since he meant them, since he wrote them and lived them. "Can I have everyone's attention please? If you're not like this and that, you're gonna have to leave." He sung then there was a pause before he sang the rest, "I cam from the mountain…the crust of creation…my whole situation made from clay to stone and now I'm telling everybody." Virgil was killing those drums, he was playing so great and he was definitely enjoying himself. All the music stopped except for Ulysses who was playing his guitar and singing giving the song a tune down for a more dramatic effect.

"I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately…all I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind." He sung in that moment and then the rest of the band kicked in as he sung the rest of the song, "I'm tired of looking round rooms wondering what I've got to do or who I'm supposed to be. I don't want to be anything other than me." He sung and he stopped playing on his lyre as he grabbed the microphone stand and sung his heart out, "I don't…want to be…hey…eee…yea. I don't…want to be…ooohh…oooh…oh." His voice getting high and Xena smiled in delight as she watched and listened to him, "I don't…want to be…I don't want to be anything…anything other than… me." He sung and then the others joined in and sung with him as they continued to play. "I don't want to be, I don't want to be. I don't want to be, I don't want to be." They sung and Ulysses added in yeah's making it all sound real good and then the song ended. When it did there was loud clapping and hollers saying they were great and they wanted to hear more.

Ulysses smiled and looked at Virgil who was smiling too and he shook hands with the guys of the band, "that was great man," one said and Ulysses smiled at them all as they paid he and Virgil compliment. He turned and looked at Xena who smiled at him and when he looked at her he winked at her and her smile got brighter. "I love you," he mouthed to her and she smiled, "I love you too," she mouthed back and he smiled. "Hey Ulysses, let's do another one," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him then at the other band members who grinned and nodded. "Let's do it then," Ulysses said and they began to play another song he and Virgil had been working on and Xena stood there and smiled to herself as she watched Ulysses really enjoy himself. It filled her with such happiness to see him this happy now she understood the saying 'seeing you happy makes me happy'. Ulysses sung two more songs and then he let out a breath as he looked out at the crowd who wanted more.

"Alright this next song is for those couples out there who are deep in love but there are other's who have their many opinions." Ulysses said and then he began start playing his lyre and the other's picked up on it with Virgil telling them some of the notes. "No matter what the people say I can't…I can't let go no…no," Ulysses began singing then played his lyre for a few seconds before he started singing. "Why must they try…to tear down my house when they… know it's made from love and they could never stand in our way. We made a vow to love…through it all we are one and no one has the right to tear my love down." Ulysses sung then went into the chorus and the other's caught on the music quickly, "no matter what the people say, I'm gonna love you anyway…you are my life…I can't let go…even if we fuss or fight…try til we get it right…you are my life…I can't let go…even if we disagree…you can put it all on me…you are my life…I can't let go…I can't…I can't let you go."

The music went back down to its soft beat as Ulysses continued to sing, "how dare they say…that a love like ours won't last? God made no mistakes…when he sheltered me with your heart…there's no safer place…than to be in love and here I will stand…and there ain't never…ain't gonna never ever leave you alone…no matter what the people say I'm gonna love you anyway…you are my life…I can't let go…even if we fuss or fight…try til we get it right…you are my life…I can't let go…even if we disagree…you can put it all on me…you are my life…I can't let go…I can't…I can't let you go." Ulysses sung and by then they had gone back into the chorus. The crowd was really enjoying the song especially Xena, since she felt like he was singing to her, which would be hard not to guess that, since his eyes never left hers.

"All that I know now…is to give you all of me…and no matter how long I take…and every part of me…belongs…to your love…help me…help me…no matter what the people say, I'm gonna love you anyway you are my life, I can't let go even if we fuss or fight, try til we get it right…you are my life, I can't let go even if we disagree, you can put it all on me…you are my life, I can't let go…I can't…I can't let you go." They other's sung as the song came to an end, "no matter what the people say," Ulysses said as they continued to play the music until they came to a close.

Ulysses sung one more song after that and by then it was getting dark; he told the people goodnight and even though they didn't want him to go, they realized it was getting late and they dispersed themselves. Xena met Ulysses at the back of the stage and she smiled at him, "here I know you can use this," she said as she handed him a water skin and he took it and gulped some of the water down his dry throat. "Thanks I really needed that," he said and Xena nodded, "you know what I need more than water?" He asked and she looked at him, "what?" She asked and he looked into her eyes as he stepped close to her, "you," he said and she grinned then closed her eyes and moaned as he kissed her. Xena stepped closer to Ulysses and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he wrapped one arm around her since his other hand held his lyre.

When the kiss ended Xena hugged Ulysses and he hugged her back as he let out a breath, "you were amazing," she told him then pulled back and looked at him. "Yea?" He asked with a grin and she nodded, "I knew you could do it," she said as she pulled on his shirt and he grinned at her. "Thanks for believing in me," he said and she smiled at him, "always," she said then leaned in and kissed him softly yet passionately. "Hey Ulysses," Virgil called and Ulysses broke the kiss and looked at his friend, "we're going to the inn, you coming?" Virgil asked and Ulysses grinned and nodded, then wrapped his arm around Xena's shoulder and they began to walk back to the Inn with Virgil and the other members of Dante's band. As they walked back to the Inn, person after person spoke to Ulysses telling him how good he was and asking him if he was going to do more tomorrow. "See I told you they would love you," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "yes you did my love, yes you did," he said then placed a kiss on her forehead.

When they got to the Inn, they sat down at a table and began talking about how much fun it all was. Xena left Ulysses to hang out with all the guys while they talked about music and she went into the kitchen and helped her mother out and they talked too. "Did you know he could sing that good?" Cyrene asked and Xena smiled and nodded, "yea, he gave me a private show," Xena said and Cyrene nodded. Xena stayed up with her mother helping her and keeping her and Corrinna company, until it was time to close the Inn. When Xena went to check on Ulysses he and the other men were a little tipsy, there were a few that were drunk since there were countless empty mugs on the table. "You know what's great when you sing? The women," one of the guys said and Ulysses smiled and nodded. "Yea they just throw themselves at you," Ulysses said then looked at Xena as she placed her hand on Ulysses' shoulder and he smiled as he looked at her. "But nothing compares to finding you one true love," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him.

"Hey, hey this is my girl," Ulysses said as he wrapped his arm around Xena's waist pulling her to him, "look at her, isn't she gorgeous," Ulysses said and all the men looked at her. "Yep," one guy said, "hey do you have any sisters?" Another asked and Xena grinned as she shook her head at them, "sorry but I have two handsome brothers," Xena said and Ulysses leaned into her stomach as he chuckled. "Alright you guys, the Inn is closing so its time for you to head up to your rooms," Xena told them and they grumbled but they stood on their wobbly legs and made their way up to their rooms. "Come on," Xena told Ulysses as she took his hand and helped him up, "I'm not drunk," he said as he looked at Xena and she looked at him. She grabbed his face and looked into his eyes where she saw a glazed look to them. "How do you feel?" She asked him and he looked at her, "I have a slight buzz," he said and she nodded.

"Well why don't you go down to my room, I'll be down as soon as I've finished helping mother clean up," Xena said. "I can help," Ulysses said and she grinned at him, "I'm sure you could but I want you to go lay down." She told him and he nodded, "okay," he said and Xena grinned and placed a kiss on his forehead then watched as he walked away. She shook her head then began cleaning off all of the tables. When she was done she wiped them all down then pushed the chairs underneath the table. She wiped down the bar then took the dirty dishes into the kitchen sitting them on the counter so that Corrinna could wash them while Cyrene dried. Xena went back out and swept the floor and when she was done she made sure everything was locked up. She went around the Inn to make sure everything was clean and then she went back down to the kitchen, "everything's good to go mom," Xena said and Cyrene grinned and nodded. "Thanks dear, you know you make cleaning up this Inn seem so easy," she said and Xena grinned at her mother.

"It should be easy enough, I've been doing it every since I can remember," Xena said and Cyrene grinned and nodded. "I'm gonna go check on Argo then I'm going to bed," Xena said. "Yea we saw Ulysses, he wasn't drunk but he was a little tipsy," Corrinna said and Xena nodded. "I know," she said then prepared to walk out of the door when her mother's voice stopped her, "have you told him about your father?" Cyrene asked and Xena shook her head, "you should dear," Cyrene said, "yea," Xena said then walked out of the door. When Ulysses got down to Xena's room he wasn't drunk but he stripped off his clothes and grabbed his pajama pants and put them on then climbed into the bed on his side which was by the wall. He got under the cover and lay down on his side and after a few minutes of his head being on the pillow he was gone. It was an hour and a half later when Xena came down to the room; she looked at Ulysses who was asleep in the bed then shook her head at his clothes scattered all over the floor.

She picked his clothes up and placed them in the chair then changed into her sleeping shift; when she was ready for bed she turned down the lanterns in her room then got into the bed. She turned on her side so that her back faced Ulysses; she let out a relaxing breath as she prepared to go to sleep. She had been lying there for about five minutes when Ulysses moved up closer behind her wrapping his arm around her; Xena grinned as she ran her hand over Ulysses' arm and he moaned then placed a kiss on Xena's shoulder. "I love you," he whispered to her, "I love you too, now go back to sleep," Xena told Ulysses and he tightened his hold on her and fell right back to sleep. When morning came Ulysses didn't wake up until the sun began to shine into his face; he brought his hand up to shield his eyes from the sun then turned on his side so that he was facing the wall. "You're up," Xena said as she walked into the room, "can you please do something with the window?" Ulysses asked and Xena walked over to the window and closed the curtains, "is that better?"

She asked him and he nodded as he removed his hand then rolled over so that he could look at Xena who sat down on the bed and looked at him. "Headache?" She asked him, "a small one," he said and Xena nodded. "Can I ask, do you always drink like that?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her and shook his head, "no not really, I tend to drink some wine when I'm upset but I have a high tolerance for alcohol so it doesn't usually affect me." Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "Ulysses I've never told you about my father," Xena said and Ulysses shook his head, "no and I never pressured you on it because I figured it was a real sore spot." He said and Xena nodded, "my father, his name is Atrius and he drank a lot, he was a drunk." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "and when he was at his worst he like to hit on my mother and when he was worse than normal he hit on me." Xena said and Ulysses sat up and looked at her, "he beat me so bad one time…well," Xena said then let out a breath as she looked at Ulysses.

"What he did to me must have surprised himself because that night he left and we haven't seen him since. I was sixteen when he left," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her. "I'm sorry," he said and she gave him a small grin as she caressed his cheek. "I don't mind you drinking Ulysses, all I ask is that you don't get drunk and I would prefer not even a little tipsy," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Alright," he said then looked into her eyes, "I didn't scare you last night did I?" He asked and she shook her head, "no it was fine. I know you had a great time yesterday and you wanted to celebrate, I had no problem with that. I just thought you should know that I don't want to ever be in the same situation my family was in when my father was around." Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "I promise, you won't have to ever worry about that with me," Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded then leaned in and kissed Ulysses. When the kiss ended and Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes she felt something different about herself, something good and new, especially when she looked into Ulysses' eyes.

"What?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned and shook her head then leaned in and kissed Ulysses again, "come on. You go take a shower and get some breakfast, we're dancing today," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he stood, "oh yeah the dancing contest." Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded, "I hope you're ready for me to dance circles around you," Xena said and Ulysses grinned. "Oh you're getting cocky now," he said and she grinned at him, "I'm not getting cocky, I'm just sure of my skills. Can you say the same?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned at her as she walked out of the door and he followed her. "I can, you just better hope you can keep up with me," Ulysses said as he stuck his head out of the door and she just waved her hand at him as she walked up the stairs and Ulysses smiled as he went back into the room and grabbed his clothes then went to take a bath.

When he was dressed for the day, he headed downstairs to the kitchen then leaned on the counter as he looked at Xena stir a pot, "let me ask you, do we need to come up with a routine or can you wing it and follow my lead?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned as she turned her head and looked at him, "I can wing it as you say but you have to be willing to follow my lead as well," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "No problem," he said then looked at the door as Cyrene walked through it. "Good morning Cyrene," Ulysses said, "good morning Ulysses," Cyrene said back and as she passed by him Ulysses jumped as he yelped in surprise. "Hey," he said as he looked at Cyrene who grinned, "I'm sorry Ulysses, it was just out there and I have been wanting to pinch your butt for the longest," Cyrene said and Xena started laughing as she looked at Ulysses. "I must have to go around with a sign on my butt saying hands off," he said and they laughed at him.

"You guys think it's funny but what if I went around slapping your butt all the time," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "Who knows, I might like it," she said sending him for a loop and he shook his head at the two women and couldn't help as a smile broke out on his face. Virgil walked into the kitchen holding the sides of his head, "I'm dying," he said and Ulysses chuckled at him, "that's what you get for drinking so much," he told his friend and Virgil groaned as he went and sat down at the table. "Where's Corrinna, I need her to fix me something," Virgil said, "she should be here in about an hour," Cyrene said and Virgil groaned as he leaned his head down on the table. "I'm gonna be dead before that," he said and Xena grinned as shook her head at him and began preparing him a remedy for his hangover.

A few minutes later, Xena walked over to the table and sat the cup down in front of Virgil, "drink that," Xena said and Virgil looked at her. "What is that?" He asked and Xena looked at him, "you don't want to know, just drink it all down in one big gulp," Xena said and Virgil looked at her then picked up the cup and looked down at the contents. It didn't look too bad so he brought the glass up to his lips and began drinking. When the taste hit his tongue he wanted to spit it out, "drink it all," Xena said as she tilted the cup back, forcing Virgil to drink it all and when he was done she took the cup from him. "Uh…gods that was gross," Virgil said as he wiped his mouth and Xena grinned as she walked over to the sink where she sat the cup in some water. "Uh…I don't feel so good," Virgil said as he placed his hand on his stomach, "three, two, one," Xena said then watched as Virgil shot up and ran out of the door where he found a place to deposit the contents of his stomach.

Ulysses grinned then looked at Virgil as he came back into kitchen and flopped down in the chair. Xena walked over to the table and placed Ulysses' plate of food down in front of him and Virgil caught the aroma of the food and looked at it and he shook his head as he ran back outside. "What did you give him?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him, "something to help clean out his system so that everything can start running properly again." Xena said then walked away and as she did Ulysses laid a slap to her butt and she turned and looked at him with a grin and he smiled at her. "See it's not all that when someone does it to you," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him. "Actually I kind of liked it," she said just as Ulysses was starting to put food into his mouth and he began choking on his food. Xena laughed as she walked over to the stove and Ulysses grinned at her as he took a sip of apple cider. Lyceus and Toris came into the kitchen and they sat down at the table for breakfast as well.

They all sat down and ate breakfast and when the Inn started getting crowded everyone went to work; Xena and the other waitresses took orders and began delivering food. Ulysses and Virgil kept an eye on things while Lyceus and Toris did a few things around the Inn that Cyrene told them needed to be done. The day passed by fast for Xena, her mother and everyone else who worked at the Inn since it seemed like there was a never ending wave of people that came. Ulysses and Virgil had to get rid of a couple of drunks and also some people who were starting problems and arguments. The dancing contest would be before dinner so Xena helped her mother prepare dinner then went to go get dressed. "Hey where are you going?" Virgil asked Ulysses, "Xena and I entered the dancing contest, it's before dinner. I'm gonna go get ready," Ulysses said and Virgil grinned at him. "Does she know how good you can dance?" Virgil asked and Ulysses grinned as he shook his head, "nope," he said then walked away heading upstairs to his room.

Xena decided to take a shower and when she was finished she left five minutes before Ulysses arrived in the bathing room and he took a shower as well. It took Xena an hour to get dress and Ulysses a little less than that; Xena washed her hair so when she got back to her room she added oil to it then brushed it until it shined. She oiled down her entire body then unwrapped the dress Ulysses bought for her the other day and she put it on. When she was done she sat down and put her beautiful new sandals on then used one of the combs that she bought the other day and pushed her hair back with it. It was a beautiful comb that looked like a beautiful butterfly with all its colors and when she was done, she looked at herself in the mirror. Ulysses put on his black leather pants and his brand new leather boots he had made the other day. He put on a sleeveless, white, silk shirt that he also bought the other day, then combed his hair back. He looked at himself in the mirror to make sure he looked good and when he was sure he headed downstairs.

He walked into the kitchen where everyone was except for Xena, "well don't you look nice," Corrinna said and Ulysses grinned. "Thanks and no grabbing my butt," Ulysses said to Cyrene who chuckled at him. "Are you guys gonna come and see us dance?" Ulysses asked and Cyrene was about to answer when Xena walked up the stairs and Ulysses looked at her his words getting stuck in his mouth and he almost forgot to breathe. "Wow Xena," Toris said as he looked at his sister and she grinned at him, "you like it?" She asked, "sis you look absolutely beautiful," Lyceus said and she smiled at him. "Your brothers are right Xena, you look stunning," Cyrene said as she walked over to her daughter. "Where did you get this beautiful dress?" She asked and Xena looked at her then at Ulysses, "Ulysses bought it for me. The lady we bought it from said this dress is made from silk from the land of chin," Xena said and Cyrene nodded as she touched the fabric. "It must have cost a pretty dinar," Corrinna said as she looked at the dress as well.

"It was worth every last one," Ulysses finally said and Xena smiled at him, "so you like it?" She asked as she walked over to him and he met her half way. "I love it, I knew you would look absolutely gorgeous in this dress," he said then took her hand and had her turn around like she was modeling it for him and he shook his head as he looked over Xena's gorgeous body. "I could die a happy man right here and now," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him as she walked into his arms. "You look pretty good too," she said and he chuckled at her as she placed her hands on his arms and their forehead rested against each other as they looked into each other's eyes. "Never knew…I could feel like this," he sung to her and she broke out into a large smile then leaned in and kissed Ulysses softly but passionately. When the kiss ended they grinned at each other then Ulysses looked at the others who were grinning at them, "so are you guys coming?" Ulysses asked and Xena leaned against him as she turned her head and looked at her family.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Lyceus said and Xena smiled at him. "This is going to be the best night ever," Ulysses whispered to Xena then placed a kiss on her cheek. They all left the Inn after ten minutes, trusting the safekeeping of the inn to some of the waitresses and a few guys who knew enough to defend themselves and others. Xena and Ulysses walked hand in hand to the town square and the others were behind them. When they got there, they saw some dancers practicing and as Xena watched she thought they were pretty good. "Come on I think we have to check in over here," Ulysses said as he led Xena over to a table where six individuals sat. "Mason you're one of the judges?" Xena asked and the old man, "as town elder I have that right, plus I know quite a bit about dancing. I studied it for a while in Athens," he said and Xena nodded. "Ulysses and I are in the contest," Xena said and Mason nodded and handed her a parchment with a number on it and a few pins. "You're number five and we're starting in five minutes," Mason said and Xena nodded then looked at Ulysses.

"Turn around I need to put this on your back," Xena said and Ulysses turned around so that she could pin the parchment to his shirt. "How many groups are there?" Ulysses asked, "ten," Mason answered and Ulysses nodded. "There will be two rounds; the first will be what we've decided to call ball room dancing. That's the dancing you would do if you were at say a royal party." Mason said and Ulysses nodded as he turned around and looked at Xena and they looked at Mason, "from that round six people will be eliminated. The second round will be just dancing to the type of music that is played but you're still dancing as if you were a professional, which most of these people here are." Mason said and Ulysses nodded then walked away from the judge's table and looked at Xena who looked at him, "okay I don't know if I can do this," she said as she looked around, "I mean look at these people, they dance for a living," she said and Ulysses grinned at her. "We'll be fine Xena, all you have to do," he said then turned her face towards him as she looked all around. He looked into her eyes and she looked into his, "all you have to do, is let go and have fun; don't worry about what everyone else is doing.

There is no one out here but you and me and the music," Ulysses said and Xena let out a breath nodded. "Dancers to the middle of the square," one of the judges announced and Xena let out a breath and looked into Ulysses' eyes and he grinned then took her hand and led her to the middle of the square. They found a spot for themselves as did the other teams, "alright listen up, there are two rounds to the contest." One of the judges began shouting so that everyone could hear, "the first round is ballroom dancing and the second is dancing to whatever type of music is played but in a professional way. There will be under no circumstances, any roughness of any sort, no tricks that would sabotage any of the other groups. If that should happen, you will be immediately disqualified." He gave that a moment to sink in then began again, "the prize for winning is 600 hundred dinars donated from all of the businesses in Amphipolis, also the winners will receive what is in this box." He said as he pointed to the box and everyone looked at it, "it holds a prized possession. Take your positions and good luck," he said then walked back over to his table and took a seat.

Xena looked at Ulysses as she walked closer to him and placed on arm around his shoulder but her hand was on his back and her other hand held his and he looked into her eyes as he placed his hand on her back. They looked into each other's eyes and when the music started playing they started moving and Xena was nervous at first but as she let Ulysses lead her she felt them glide across the ground like they flying across the floor. As they continued to dance around the floor Ulysses spun Xena around and she smiled at him as her hand automatically fell back into his. They continued to dance like they were expert ball room dancers, their form was even perfect and Ulysses spun Xena around so that she did a triple and people in the crowd clapped for them and others who performed good moves.

The song was played by a group of musicians from a near by kingdom and they were great; the song lasted for about eight minutes and when it was over everyone had their pose and Ulysses and Xena's was, Ulysses spun Xena around at the last moment and when she came back around she was tight against him with his arm holding her close. They smiled at each other and when the people started clapping everyone relaxed. Xena and Ulysses as well as everyone else looked over at the table of judges waiting for their verdict of who would be going to the next round. Mason stood and the entire square went silent, "you all did very well, in fact lets give them another hand," Mason said and the crowd clapped once more and Ulysses stood slightly behind and on the side of Xena and she leaned back into him both of them letting out breaths as they awaited news of who would pass to the next round. "And now it's time to announce those who will be going to the next round," he said and then he began calling out the group number who made it.

"Couple five," Mason announced and Xena and Ulysses both let out a breaths and Ulysses placed a kiss on Xena's cheek. When Mason finished calling out the groups that won the ones that didn't left the square. "Round number two will determine the winner, the judges will walk around and look while you dance and as you dance they will eliminate a couple, by touching you on the shoulder. If that should happen, you leave the square, in the end there will only be two couples left and you will continue to dance until the music stops."

Mason said and when he made sure everyone understood he backed up by the table, "take your positions," Mason said and Ulysses stood behind Xena and she stood close to him with her arm in the air, "just let go and have fun with me," Ulysses said and Xena grinned. "See if you can keep up," Xena said with a smile and Ulysses smiled in return; when the music began playing they began dancing to what was a Mexican beat with horns and trumpets. There was a beautiful singer whose name was Lola who sung the song that started off slow but it had a nice beat to it. Her face was turned slightly to him and his to her and Xena began moving her shoulders to the beat of the music.

Funny thing is when I look into your eyes  
I sense something so sincere in your disguise  
You whisper secrets I hear only in my dreams  
Then I wake up to your tele-smoke screen  
I wait patiently while you play your game  
'Cause in the end, I'll be the winner all the same  
You'll see clearly when the song comes to a stop  
I'll be the one blowing kisses from the top 

(Lola)  
(So baby, stop) Stop, you're surrounded  
(I got my love) Love all around ya  
(One wrong move) Move and I'll down ya  
And that'll end ya  
You should surrender  
You'll never win  
Unless you give in

When Lola started singing, Xena's arm went up into the air, her elbow slightly bent and Ulysses' went up with hers, his hand slowly coming down as though he were caressing her arm but he never touched it. Xena's arm came down and Ulysses grabbed her hand and spun her away from him and when she came back, she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and the other held onto his arm as he dipped her half way; as she was being dipped her leg wrapped around Ulysses' leg. Xena tilted her head back and Ulysses ran his hand from her neck, down between the crease of her breasts to her stomach and down the thigh of the leg that was wrapped around his. When she released her leg they pushed out from each other her leg going back and so did his. They struck that pose then moved so that they were against each other and Ulysses caressed her back and then he spun her around and when she came back she was holding his hand and her other hand was on his shoulders. His hand was holding hers and the other was around her waist and they had some distance between them and they kept key contact as they began dancing around the floor but to the others that were watching it seemed like they were gliding.

The song began to move a little faster as did Lola's words; the judges walked around and looked at the dancers and once judge touched one couple on the shoulder and they stopped dancing and walked off of the square. Ulysses placed his hand on Xena's shoulder and grinned as if he were pulling her as they continued to move; Xena grinned as she turned back to Ulysses and he held her tight with his arm around her waist as they moved against each other. His other arm came up and went down while Xena ran her hand down his chest and still they continued to move against each other in a sort of sexual manner.

They danced once more like graceful ballroom dancing and then Ulysses spun her around and when she came back she sort of fell into him and he held her as he dipped her bringing her back up not even half the way before he dipped her again then pulled her up slowly against him; the way he dipped her was so soft and smooth especially when he pulled her up then dipped her back down it was like magic. They broke apart and started dancing and moving across the floor. As they did they both spun around at the same time then began moving backwards. Xena grinned as she looked at Ulysses and he looked at her as their arms went out the same time one of their legs were out.

(So stop, baby, stop) Stop, you're surrounded  
(I got my love) Love all around ya  
(One wrong move) Move and I'll down ya  
And that'll end ya  
You should surrender  
You'll never win  
Unless you give in  
So won't you give our love a chance?  
Or do you only wanna dance? 

You put your lips very closely to my face  
And then you run away and so begins the chase  
I'll be the hunter, but boy, you better pray  
'Cause when I want ya, I'll get you anyway  
You know what I wanna do  
It ain't nothing new  
I'm tired of dropping clues  
So, gonna step to you  
Will you rise to my occasion?  
Or will you make me change your station?

They began dancing backwards and Ulysses smiled as they stopped moving and they began to dance in place separately. It seemed to all come back to him as he began moving his legs and feet so fast with skill and his arms moved with him and he had a smile on his face as he remembered how much fun this could be. Ulysses spun around so smoothly, so cool and at the same time Xena who held the front of her dress up a little bit as she moved the upper half of her body in an enticing way then spun around before she dipped her head down and when she brought it back up she had a smile on her face as she jiggled her chest while looking at Ulysses who smiled at her. And they danced for a few more seconds before Xena reached her arm out and Ulysses smiled as he took her hand spinning her to him and when she was pressed against him he dipped her just as smoothly as he had the last time like they had been doing it for years. When she came up they separated again and Xena smiled as she brought her hands up from the back like she were about to caress her hair.

The music went to a height then came back down as Xena started moving around the floor and Ulysses grinned as he followed her and they were both still facing each other. Ulysses came close to Xena placing his hands on her waist and she grinned and looked into his eyes as she brought her hand up from the front, running her fingers through her hair on the side. Xena did a spin grinning when she came around and Ulysses already had her hand; they spun and began Xena danced around Ulysses his arms going behind his back as he continued to hold her hands. The last turn they did they ended up being close together and Xena's hands came down to his shoulders while he smiled as he brought his hand down and caressed her cheek. Then Xena spun away from Ulysses a little bit and he grinned as he reached his hand down and grabbed the bottom of her dress pulling it as if he was turning her around and she did indeed turn around. When she came back he took her hand and pulled her to him and then they both pushed away; they were still holding each other's hands as the free arms went out and they came back in.

Still holding her hand, he spun her away from her and as she was coming back he got down on one knee and Xena grinned as she danced twisting and turning her legs her feet moving fast. Ulysses was looking at Xena's feet and when she kicked out like she was going to kick him in the face he looked up and grinned as he pulled her back to him standing up. As she came to him their bodies were pressed against each other while she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and his arm held her tight; the song slowed down just for a minute to an erotic beat and they moved against each other their knees bending as they slid and kind of grinded against each other. Ulysses then dipped her forward and with his hand behind her neck he slowly swung her around while he continued to dip her and when she came up she placed her hand on his shoulder and they grinned at each other as they danced. Ulysses pushed out and Xena pushed away from him and still holding his hand she turned in continuous circles and when then ended her arms were out and Ulysses was behind her holding her hands as they continued to dance.

Stop, you're surrounded  
(I got my love) Love all around ya (Uh)  
(One wrong move) Move and I'll down ya  
And that'll end ya  
You should surrender  
You'll never win  
Unless you give in 

(Stop) Stop, you're surrounded  
(Oh, I got my love) Love all around ya  
(One wrong move) Move and I'll down ya  
And that'll end ya (Uh)  
You should surrender (Uh)  
You'll never win  
Unless you give in  
So won't you give our love a chance? 

If you take my hands  
And follow my lead  
I'll make you dance (I can make you dance)  
But if you get my feet (Get my feet)  
And miss the beat (And miss the beat)  
Then I can't take that chance (Then I can't take that chance)  
If you take my hands (Oh)  
And follow my lead (Oh, Oh, oh-oh)  
I'll make you dance (I can make you dance)  
But if you get my feet (Get my feet)  
And miss the beat (And miss the beat)  
Then I can't take that chance (I can't take it)

A minute later Ulysses stepped up closer behind Xena and she moved back into him until their bodies were pressed so close together air couldn't pass between them. Ulysses placed his hands on Xena's waist and she placed her hands on top of his both smiling as he grind into her and she grinded back into him; his hands grabbing her dress and pulling it up a little this move was clearly a sexual move, a dirty dancing move. They did that for about a minute before Xena fell forward; Ulysses had his hand on her waist and the other on her shoulder as he pressed hard into her and she pushed back hard on him while coming around then back up into his arms. They danced and she pushed away from him doing a small turn and when she was finished her hand was reached out and Ulysses took it and spun her back into his arms; her back was pressed against his chest and they began moving again and as they moved Ulysses moved his body down until his face was leveled with her butt and as he came back up he caressed her legs and thighs. While he went down she smiled as her arms came up and she moved in a sexually way but it wasn't too aggressive.

When he came back up, they grinded against each other again then started their ballroom dancing around the room once more; the song beginning to pick up and their was a time they turned side ways and they did fancy leg work with their legs kicking out behind them then in the front while the continued holding hands and continued to dance. They then broke apart and started dancing to the medium pace of the song; still separated they danced around the room, Ulysses sliding in front of Xena and dancing in front of her his arms and body moving so smoothly and Xena smiled as she watched him. They continued to dance with Xena sometimes spinning and Ulysses spun once a twice. The last time he did it they continued to dance and he smiled as he looked at Xena and she looked at him smiling as he reached his hand out and caressed her cheek for just a minute before they continued dancing separately, just moving to the music. Xena then placed her hand on Ulysses' chest like she was pushing him away and he smiled as he placed his hand on her waist and they began moving around the square and they way they were moving it looked like Xena was actually pushing him away and they were gliding on the floor.

(So stop) Stop, you're surrounded (Baby stop)  
Love all around ya  
(One wrong move) Move and I'll down ya  
And that'll end ya (Uh)  
You should surrender (Uh)  
You'll never win  
Unless you give in 

By now there were just Xena and Ulysses left, along with one other couple and everyone from the town it seemed, watched them dance. They then went back to their ballroom dancing with their arms around each other as they broke away with their arms out to the side. And they continued to do that while dancing around the room until Ulysses pulled her to him and she grinned as she pushed away; his hand was still holding her and he pulled her back and as she came back she spun her way into his arms so that when she stopped her back was to his chest his arm around her waist and his hand holding hers. They were so close, their blood boiling from the dancing that they leaned in and kissed; the kiss being a soft brief passionate kiss. When the kiss ended Ulysses smiled as he looked into Xena's eyes and she smiled as she looked at him; with his hand on her waist he pushed her away so that she spun out. He grabbed her hand spinning her back in and she spun out one more time and this time when she was back in Ulysses' arms she leaned against him as if her legs didn't work, her arms around his shoulder and again their faces were so close they could have kissed as Ulysses stepped back and with the strength in his arms held Xena as she was as he began spinning.

They both smiled as they spun around and Xena's legs were straight out and he continued to spin her for a minute more until the song ended and when it did his arm held her around the waist as she fell backwards. Her arm held his back and the other was loose at her side as Ulysses through his arm up into the air striking that pose as the last drum beat and the trumpet sound.

(Stop, baby, stop) Stop, you're surrounded  
(I got my love) Love all around ya (All around you)  
Move and I'll down ya  
And that'll end ya  
You should surrender  
You'll never win  
Unless you give in

(So stop) Stop, you're surrounded  
(I got my love) Love all around ya (All around you)  
Move and I'll down ya (Uh-uh-uh)  
And that'll end ya (Uh-uh-uh!)  
You should surrender (Uh-uh-uh!!)  
You'll never win  
Unless you give in  
So won't you give our love a chance?

The song was over and Ulysses smiled as he pulled Xena up and she laughed as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and his arm went around her waist. They looked into each other's eyes then at the crowd as the heard the roaring sound of clapping. "Excellent, excellent," Mason said as he walked over to the two couples, both were trying to catch their breaths. "That was some of the best dancing I've seen in a while, so congratulations to you both on outstanding dancing. However great though both couples were, there can only be one couple to win."

Mason said pausing for a dramatic effect, "This was indeed a very hard choice to make, as I said before you were both outstanding; so the rest of the judges and I have decided to go with couple number," he said then stopped and Xena just leaned into Ulysses. "No matter what the outcome I had a great time tonight," Xena told him and Ulysses grinned as he nodded. "As did I my love," Ulysses whispered to her then placed a kiss on her forehead as they waited for Mason to say the number. "Couple number five," Mason said and Ulysses and Xena stood there in shock until they were shook out by the loud sound of clapping and Virgil clapped Ulysses on his back. Ulysses turned and looked at Xena then swooped her up in his arms as he hugged her tightly and she laughed as she hugged him back.

"We did it," Xena said and Ulysses smiled at her as he put her down and looked into her eyes, "yes we did," he said then leaned in and kissed her softly. "Xena and Ulysses," Mason called and their kiss broke as they turned and looked at him, "you guys were excellent and you won because of your style of dancing; you mixed ball room dancing with erotic dancing, I've only seen that in a few places and you did it so well. You guys must have been practicing for weeks," Mason said and they grinned as they turned and looked at each other then back at Mason, "actually,, we didn't practice at all. We just came out here and decided to concentrate more on having fun then trying to win," Xena said and Mason grinned and nodded. "That's what you have to and we saw the love of dancing you both have." Mason said and the smiled at him, "excuse me," a voice said and Xena and Ulysses turned and looked at the couple they competed with. "I just wanted to say you guys were great," the man said and Ulysses shook his hand. "So were you guys," Ulysses said and Xena shook the woman's hand and they watched as they walked away and Xena smiled as she looked back at Ulysses then hugged him again.

"I'm sure you guys want to collect your prize," Mason said and Xena nodded and Mason pushed a sack of dinars towards them and Ulysses looked at it then picked it up feeling the weight of six hundred dinars. "What's in the box?" Xena asked Mason and he grinned at her, "you'll have to open it and see," he said and Xena looked at him then at the box. It was a medium sized box but from the look of it she could tell it was deep. "Would you stop being suspicious and open the box," Ulysses told Xena with laughter in his voice and she grinned at him then raised the top off of the box and looked into it. Xena grinned when she saw what was in it, "what? What is it?" Ulysses asked and Xena smiled as she reached her hands down into the box and when she brought them back up, she held a brown and black cub in her hands. "It's a wolf cub," Xena said as she looked at it, "yea a few guys went hunting yesterday and saw that it's mother, brothers and sisters had been killed by a panther. He was the only one left," Mason said and Xena grinned and nodded as she caressed his head she was always a lover and sucker for animals.

The wolf blinked his yellow eyes at her then leaned in and sniffed her and deciding he liked the smell he cuddled up to her and licked her jaw. Xena smiled and Ulysses smiled as he looked at her and the cub in her hands, "let's go," Ulysses said as he wrapped his free arm around Xena, "thanks Mason," Xena told the elder and he grinned and waved at her as he watched them walk away.

**Continued In**

**Chapter Five: The Lovers**

**Let me know what you think. **

**Negative and positive feedback is welcomed, it is encouraged. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. Just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played. So the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. lol If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if its too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination.

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together. There is no more violence than your regular Xena episode.

**Chapter Five: The Lovers**

Xena and Ulysses walked back to the Inn deciding to go in the back way, "let's stay out here for a while," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. They sat down on a wooden bench that was outside and Xena held the puppy in her lap as she patted him and Ulysses looked at her as she looked up at the stars. "This has been such a wonderful night," Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "I've never had so much fun," he said and Xena nodded then placed the cub on the ground letting him sniff around while she stood only to sit down on Ulysses' lap.

He grinned as he wrapped his arms around her, "I wanna thank you," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her. "For what?" He asked, "for showing me how to really live, for bringing joy and happiness to my life. I was lost before you came Ulysses, I was lost and I felt empty and alone and then you showed up at the right moment. It was as if the gods themselves had sent you to me and I thank them for you every day because I am so deeply in love with you," she said then grinned, "and I'm not afraid to admit it anymore," she said and Ulysses just looked into her eyes as he brought his hand up and caressed her cheek. He turned his head towards the direction of the Inn hearing slow music beginning to play and he turned back and looked at Xena, "dance with me," he said and she grinned as she stood holding his hand in her own. He stood as well and they moved to the middle of the yard; Xena wrapped her arms around Ulysses' shoulders and he wrapped his arms around her. They held each other close as they began slow dancing in a small circle to the music that was playing.

Xena closed her eyes and relaxed in Ulysses' arms as they danced and as they moved she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair inhaling his scent as he did hers. "This has been the perfect night," Ulysses whispered to Xena and she grinned as she held him tighter; as they danced Xena realized she felt completely still in her body. There was no fear, no voices going off telling her she was getting too close and to back away. There was nothing only the love she felt for him and she realized she had finally lowered her walls so that he could enter her heart; she realized she was feeling the true depth of her love for him. "You know I bought you something," Ulysses said snapping Xena out of her thoughts, "oh yeah," she said and he nodded. "It's something I know you're gonna like," he said and she thought about then pulled back into and looked into Ulysses' eyes. "Then why don't you show it to me," she said and Ulysses looked at her and grinned, "sure its up in my room I'll just go get it," he said as he broke their embrace but she held on tight to his hand and he looked at her.

"I'll come with you," she said and he looked into her eyes and nodded, "sure," he said and he walked over to the bench and picked up the sack of money and Xena called the cub who hadn't strayed far. She picked him up and they walked into the Inn, "well if it isn't the great dancers," Corrinna said and they smiled at everyone. "Is that a wolf?" Virgil asked and Xena nodded, "yea this little guy was what was in the box." Xena said and Cyrene looked at her daughter, "you and your animals Xena," she said and Xena grinned. "Hey Xena what are you gonna do with all of that money?" Toris asked and she looked at him, "keep some for myself then give some to you, Lyceus, Corrinna and the rest goes to mother." Xena said as she looked at her mother who looked back at her, "Xena I couldn't, you won that money it's yours. Go do something great with it," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her mother.

"I am; you could use the money to buy a lot of things you've been wanting for the Inn. Plus you can save some in case we fall on bad times or you can treat yourself to some beautiful dresses you didn't have to make yourself." Xena said and Cyrene looked at her, "Xena," she started saying, "no argument mother you're getting the money," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he heard the note of finality in Xena's voice and then she pulled on his hand and lead him up the stairs. "When did she get so bossy?" Cyrene asked and they chuckled at her and went back to their conversations while Xena and Ulysses headed up stairs to Ulysses' room. When they got there Ulysses walked into the room first and he walked over and placed the sack of gold close to the bed; Xena walked into the room and placed the cub on the floor then closed the door behind her locking it. "Now where did I put that?" Ulysses asked himself as he began looking for what he bought Xena and she looked at him as she walked up to him.

Ulysses was having a hard time finding it since there was no light in the room other than the moonlight. "It would help if I had more light," he said to himself while Xena quietly took off her shoes sitting them to the side. She also took the comb out of her hair and placed it on the table then ran her fingers through her hair shaking it up some. "What in tartarus did I do with it?" Ulysses asked himself again, "Ulysses," Xena called and he stood and turned and looked at Xena whatever he was about to say got stuck in his throat by the look in Xena's eyes. She walked up closer to him until her body was pressed against his and she looked into his eyes as she placed her hands on his chest. "I'm not afraid anymore," she whispered to him and those words said volumes to him; Xena leaned in and kissed Ulysses' softly and when the kiss ended he looked into her eyes and she continued to look into his as she began unbuttoning his shirt. "Um…are you sure? Because if you're not we don't have to…" Ulysses started saying but Xena stopped him as she leaned in and kissed him again and this kiss was more passionate than the last.

"I'm sure, surer than I have ever been in my entire life. I love you Ulysses and I want to be with you in every way imaginable." She said then pulled his shirt out of his pants as she continued to look into his eyes, "I want you to make passionate undying love to me and in return I will do the same." She said then leaned in preparing for another kiss, "I'm ready to give you my heart," she said and he moaned as he took her lips in a passionate kiss and Xena moaned as she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Ulysses' shoulders pulling herself closer. They took in air through their noses and continued to passionately taste each other's lips. When the kiss ended they rested their foreheads against each others and Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as she slowly pushed the shirt off of his shoulders and he let it fall down his arms to the floor. They leaned back in and softly and slowly began tasting each other's lips and as they kissed Ulysses' caressed Xena's arms slowly moving his way up to her shoulders where he began to push the straps to the dress down.

"Mmmm," Xena moaned as she brought her hands up to Ulysses' face as the kiss began to slowly deepen. They stood there and continued to kiss for a while and then Ulysses leaned down and began placing soft, sweet, loving kisses on Xena's neck sucking and nibbling lightly in some places. As he did that her hands went to his pants and she undid his belt and Ulysses heard it fall to the floor. He moved his kisses to Xena's shoulders and began pulling the straps down as he kissed and sucked on the flesh. Xena closed her eyes and moaned as she ran her hands over Ulysses' arms, chest and back. They stood there a while longer and Xena pulled her arms out of the dress and it fell to the floor leaving her only standing in her underwear. "Ummm…mmmm," they both moaned as they kissed and their bodies pressed up against each other. Ulysses would make sure this would be a night that would last forever, a night that Xena would remember as the greatest night in her life as would he.

So with those thoughts in mind he swiftly and smoothly picked her up in his arms. He cradled her in his arms as they continued to kiss and Xena moaned as she wrapped her arm around Ulysses' shoulder while continuing to taste his lips. And as they continued to kiss Ulysses walked over to the bed and when he was there he placed a knee on the bed and deposited Xena like she was the most precious thing in the world and to him she was. He made quick work in getting rid of his boots then got into the bed his body over Xena's and she looked into his eyes as she ran her hands over his arms. "Are you sure?" He asked her again, "take me. Make me yours Ulysses; I want you to be my first, my one and only," she said and he looked into her eyes as he lowered his head down and his body keeping most of his weight on his forearms and elbows. "As you will be mine," he said just before he kissed her and he kissed her and Xena moaned as he kissed her so passionately her head was pushed back into the pillows.

She let him have control of the kiss for a while then showed him what she could do; he moaned with delight and pleasure from the kiss and the fact that he finally found the woman who could match him in kissing and damn she was doing a good job Ulysses thought as she explored his mouth with her tongue in a way no one had ever explored it and then she managed to suck on his tongue while tasting his lips all at the same time. Oh he knew tonight was going to be a wonderful and glorious night. They lay there and kissed for a while some of the kisses being soft, slow and passionate while others were soft tasting of lips, passionate tasting of lips and some were hungry and demanding kisses while they softly caressed each other. Through all their kissing they stopped every now and then to look into each other's eyes sometimes grinning as they saw how much in love they were. Ulysses moaned into the kiss as Xena ran her fingers softly over and up and down his back; he didn't know such a touch could make him feel so good and make him feel so much.

Of course Xena didn't let Ulysses have all the fun with being on top while they kissed; they rolled on their sides and kissed like that for a while and then Xena was on top and she took full advantage of the position as she kissed him passionately enough so that he moaned as his head was pushed back into the pillow. He caressed Xena's back loving her soft skin, "Mmmm…mmm," Xena moaned as she tasted Ulysses' lips and he moaned as well as he returned the kiss while running his fingers through her hair loving the length of it and its silkiness. Ulysses eventually rolled Xena back onto her back and when their last round of kissing ended he began kissing her cheek, chin and neck devoting himself to kissing and loving every inch of Xena's body. When he got to her neck he kissed, sucked, nibbled and ran his tongue soothingly over a few spots; when he found a pleasure spot he tested it but not to the limit but enough that Xena was tilting her head back asking for more as she moaned. Her hand was on the back of Ulysses' neck sometimes caressing it or running her fingers through his hair. Her other hand ran over Ulysses' arm gripping it and his back occasionally.

Ulysses' hands were busy caressing Xena's body but he wasn't in a rush, oh no he would take this slow for her and for himself. He wanted her to remember everything and he wanted to remember everything as well; every kiss, every smell, every taste. He was definitely going to make passionate, undying love to her like she asked and like he very much wanted to do. So when he was finished with her neck he began kissing his way down taking his time and exploring her body to the fullest. When he got to her breasts he kissed the valley between them then went to her right breast and kissed all around it before he flicked his tongue over her nipple. Xena moaned as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair while looking down at him, he could feel her eyes on him so he looked up at her as he took her nipple into his mouth. "Ummm," Xena moaned as she closed her eyes and her body arched into Ulysses' mouth. He closed his eyes and moaned as he sucked on the hardened peak which tasted so good.

He held Xena's breast in his hand as he continued to suck and his other hand pinched and pulled on Xena's other nipple while he sometimes squeezed the entire peak. Ulysses continued to suck and as he did so he scraped his teeth over the nipple and Xena moaned louder as she attempted to pull him closer. Ulysses looked up at Xena and grinned, "you like that?" He asked, "yes," Xena moaned then ran her hand over Ulysses' arm as he went back to sucking on her nipple and this time he bit down on it then pulled on it with his teeth. "Um…gods," Xena moaned as did Ulysses and he did that a while longer until Xena's nipple was more erect than we he first started out. He slowly kissed his way over to her other breast and gave it the same attention. Xena had her eyes closed and head tilted back and moaned while Ulysses made love to her breasts in a way she never imagined. When he was done he ran his hands over her body caressing her as he began to kiss, suck and nibble his way down her body but still he took his time and kissed, sucked, licked and nibbled every piece of skin he could get his mouth on, slowly setting Xena's body on fire.

When he got to her navel he dipped his tongue into it then just kissed all around the band of her underwear not going further than that though he desperately wanted to since he could smell her heavenly essence. Instead he skipped her center and went to her thighs where he ran his tongue by the crevice of her thigh but that was the closest he got. He kissed, sucked and nibbled on Xena's thighs while he also caressed them and he continued to make his way down kissing and caressing her legs. Xena smiled at Ulysses as he kissed and sucked on a particular spot on the back of her leg that was ticklish. Ulysses smiled at her and tickled her a little loving to hear Xena's laughter; when he was done he went back to kissing her entire body until he was on his knees holding her foot in his hands as he kissed it then sucked on Xena's big toe and she watched him with love and adoration in her eyes. He did the same to the other leg then kissed his way back up and when he got to her underwear he got back up on his knees. He looked at Xena as he grabbed the band of her underwear and began pulling them down; she looked into his eyes as she raised her hips and he continued to pull her underwear down.

Ulysses pulled Xena's underwear down over her legs and over her feet dropping them to the bed; Xena placed he feet back on the bed with her legs up bent at the knee. Ulysses looked at her as he ran his hands over her thighs and legs then opened them wide. Xena's breathing began to pick up as Ulysses lowered himself between her legs and he opened them a little wider wanting to see her completely. "You're so beautiful," he told Xena and she looked down at him; he looked at her then down at her glistening center. He brought his finger up and ran it through her lips moaning at the wetness and Xena moaned from the touch. He parted her lips to get a good look at her and she was dripping wet and her wonderful, sweet smell made him dizzy. He moaned as he dipped his head down and got a taste of what she had to offer, "Mmmmm," he moaned and Xena let out a breath as she looked up at the ceiling in surprise as she felt this sensation for the first time.

"You're so wet and ummmm…you taste so good," Ulysses said as he came up to lick his lips only to place his hands on Xena's thighs holding her legs open as he went down and tasted her most intimate place. And the fact that he was the first here to taste what she had to offer only made him want her more, "Unnnngh," Xena moaned as her eyes closed but her mouth stayed open as she moaned. Ulysses moaned as he softly ran his tongue over Xena's soft, wet, sensitive flesh letting her get use to the sensations and feelings that would become more as he explored and tasted her more. Ten minutes passed and Xena was on the bed moaning non stop now and Ulysses continued to eat her out, Xena tried to rub herself into Ulysses' face but he held her down preventing that. "Oh Ulysses," Xena moaned and Ulysses moaned as he was rewarded with more of her wetness. He rose up for a moment and ran his hands up her sides, caressing them as he placed kisses on her thighs, giving himself and her a moment, letting anticipation build until he could stand it no longer and he went back to his delighted task.

Xena cried out in surprise as Ulysses latched on to he clit and began sucking on it; she grabbed his hair tightly and attempted to pull him closer. "Unnngh…don't stop," Xena moaned and Ulysses moaned as well as he used his thumb to stimulate her clit while he licked and sucked all over, going down to her entrance where she oozed with the delightful treat. Two minutes later Xena released, "Unnnngh…aahhhhh," she moaned as she gripped Ulysses' shoulder while her back arched off of the bed and Ulysses moaned as he placed his mouth over her entrance where he sucked and licked all that flowed from her. When he had it all and she fell back to the bed trying to catch her breath Ulysses soothingly ran his tongue over her tender flesh before he placed sweet kisses on her thighs then kissed his way back up. When he was lying between her legs he looked at Xena who had her eyes closed and he placed sweet kisses on her jaw until she opened them. She looked into his eyes as she caressed his cheek then looked at his wet lips which were covered in her essence.

"Do I taste okay?" She asked and he smiled at her, "you taste wonderful, it was like tasting one of the best sweet treats that had never been thought up yet." He said and she grinned then looked at his lips again before she raised up and kissed him softly tasting herself which she thought wasn't bad so she began to suck on his lips while they kissed and Ulysses' moaned. They lay there and kissed for a while and then Xena rolled Ulysses onto his back where they continued to kiss a while longer. When the last kiss ended she began kissing her way down his body exploring and tasting him in the same way he did her. When she got to his neck she found that he was particularly sensitive to the area where you could feel his pulse so she kissed around that area then sucked on it. "Ummm," Ulysses moaned as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back allowing Xena more access and she took full advantage of it. After a bit Xena left that spot alone and found another close by that one and this one was more sensitive than the other.

"Sssss…gods," Ulysses hissed as Xena made him feel things no other woman had made him feel. His fingers were running through her hair but then he ran his hands over her back caressing and massaging the flesh. Xena moaned and kissed and sucked her way over to Ulysses' ear and when she got there she sucked on his earlobe grinning when she felt the shiver go through his body. She kissed her way back down his neck slowly and tantalizing making her way down his chest; Xena loved Ulysses' muscled chest and she would show him how much. She kissed, sucked and nibbled all around and when she got to his nipple she licked it before she took it between her teeth and pulled on it. "Mmmm," Ulysses moaned as his back arched off the bed and Xena grinned as she sucked on his nipple then let it go and licked on it. She kissed her way over to his other nipple and did the same and when she was done she caressed his chest as she kissed and nibbled on his stomach.

When she got to the edge of his pants she kissed all around the area like he did her then sat up and began undoing his pants. Ulysses watched her and when she had them undone she began pulling them down and Ulysses raised his hips helping her. Xena pulled Ulysses' pants down over his waist and his member sprung free; Xena looked at it then pulled Ulysses' pants the rest of the way off and they fell to the floor. Ulysses opened his legs so that Xena could fit between them and she looked at him as she ran her hands over his strong, hard thighs. She leaned down and kissed, sucked and nibbled on his thighs then made her way up to his very large, very erect member. Her breathing picked up at the thought of it being inside of her bringing her never ending pleasure. She had seen a man's penis before but never this close and never had she had a chance to touch it and explore it. She took it in her hand feeling its warmth and hardness then leaned forward and flicked her tongue over Ulysses' head.

Ulysses watched Xena as she explored him with curiosity; she licked his head a couple of times then sucked on it moaning as she found she actually liked it. The next thing Ulysses knew he was moaning as she engulfed him completely. _'He taste good; I didn't expect him to taste this good or that I would enjoy myself as much as I'm enjoying myself now'_ Xena thought to herself as she sucked him deep in her mouth and just used her imagination and pleasured him. Ulysses moaned and his hand gripped Xena's hair and then he forced his eyes open and looked down at Xena. He moved her hair to the side so that he could see her and Xena opened her eyes and looked at Ulysses.

She was about to stop afraid that she was doing something wrong or she wasn't pleasuring him but when she saw the look in his eyes, the look of adoration and worship she moaned and continued what she was doing what she was enjoying. Xena really couldn't believe how much she was enjoying pleasuring Ulysses like this and not only did she love sucking on him she loved his moans which were coming endlessly. She sucked him used her teeth to scrape against his sensitive flesh and she sucked him deep into her mouth. After a few minutes she pulled him from her mouth and kissed all long his shaft before she sucked his head and only his head into her mouth. She moaned as she did that, tasting a bit of his pre-cum and then she looked up at him and saw he was enjoying himself about as much as she was enjoying herself. She sucked him completely into her mouth again and he moaned as his back arched off the bed. Xena moaned as she tasted him and her hands ran up his stomach to his chest where she caressed him.

'_Gods what is she doing to me? I've never reacted to a woman's mouth or touch like this'_ Ulysses thought to himself and he almost screamed when Xena stroked him with his hand because her mouth was busy sucking his balls deep into her mouth. "Xena…oh baby," he moaned as he ran his fingers through her hair and she moaned as she sucked on his balls loving that as well. When she was finished she licked his shaft then sucked him completely into her mouth again; Ulysses lay back with his eyes closed as he really enjoyed himself.

He let her have a few more minutes enjoying the attention, the pleasure and the moans that left her mouth. "Come here," he told her and she moaned as she sucked him a couple more times almost as if she couldn't stop herself, he was tasting so good. Her hand stroked Ulysses and he looked at her as she lay her body down on top of his but between his legs. He caressed her cheek then rose up and kissed her softly but passionately; the kiss was a passionate tasting of lips that Ulysses slowly began to deepen. They lay there for a couple of minutes kissing passionately and deeply and then Ulysses rolled Xena onto her back and he settled himself between her legs causing her legs to open to him.

They continued to kiss Ulysses not rushing things just taking it slowly; after a bit he brought his hand between their bodies and took his erect cock into his hand and brushed the tip of it through Xena's lips. Her breathing began to pick up, especially when he posed himself at her entrance; the kiss ended and Ulysses placed soft kisses on Xena's cheek and chin making his way over to her ear. "Relax, relax baby, I swear I won't hurt you," he whispered in her ear then kissed her cheek making his way back over to her lips where he kissed her softly. As they kissed Xena ran her hands over Ulysses' back as she relaxed and then she placed her hands on his upper arms. When Ulysses felt Xena was relaxed enough, he continued to kiss her softly but passionately as he eased himself into her. Ulysses pushed in until he felt the barrier that made her a virgin; he kissed her softly one last time then pushed through the barrier tearing through it. "Aaaahhhh," Xena cried out in pain as her hands held Ulysses' arms tightly and he looked at her as her face turned up in pain.

He placed soft, sweet kisses on her cheek and chin letting her get use to the feeling of him being inside of her, "I love you, I love you so much," Ulysses whispered lovingly in Xena's ear as she got used to the feeling. Xena let out breaths as Ulysses stretched her. He was so big and hard but he entered her with such softness and when she looked at him he looked at her as he eased himself out and pushed back in. "Unnngh," Xena moaned in pleasure her eyes and mouth wide open and Ulysses continued with his slow even strokes. Ulysses leaned down and kissed Xena softly on the lips and he continued to do that until she responded to the kiss; they shared a passionate tasting of lips and as time passed on Ulysses sped up a little more.

Twenty minutes passed and Xena was now really into it, she didn't know there could be such pleasure and it felt great. Ulysses was now moving at a medium pace and as she and Ulysses shared a passionate kiss, he ran his hand down her leg and brought it up so that her knee was raised to his back and her foot rested on his butt. "Unnnngh," Ulysses moaned as he went in and out of her. "Ummmm," Xena moaned as the kiss ended and they looked into each other's eyes, "open your legs wider for me," Ulysses whispered and Xena looked into his eyes as she opened her legs wider.

"Unnnngh…Unnnghh," Xena moaned as she closed her eyes tightly; Ulysses rose up on his hands and went deeper into Xena, "ssss…un…un…unnnngh," Ulysses threw his head back and moaned in extreme pleasure. After a few minutes, he leaned his head down and kissed and sucked on her neck and Xena held him there while her other hand caressed his back. Her fingers eventually went down to Ulysses' butt where she finally squeezed the tight flesh; she dug her nails into his butt and pulled him closer as she grinded against him. "Aahhh…Unnngh," Xena cried out in pleasure as she held onto Ulysses' butt then brought her hands up to caress his back and he moaned as he kissed her chin then kissed her. After a while, Xena got bold and rolled Ulysses onto his back; Ulysses moaned as he ran his hands over Xena's back while they continued to kiss and when the kiss ended she looked into Ulysses' eyes as she sat up.

"Unnnngh," she moaned as she placed her hands on his chest and began riding him; Ulysses looked at her as he placed his hands on her thighs caressing them and slowly moving them up to her sides. Ulysses was so deep in her now she couldn't believe it and as she rose herself up and came back down the pleasure was unbelievable. Ulysses looked at Xena as she moaned constantly while her head tilted back in pleasure. The more she got use to the feeling the bolder she became and began to explore what would cause her and Ulysses more pleasure. Her hands were on his chest and she found herself pushing down hard when she came down and adding a twist to it. Ulysses moaned as he looked at Xena and she did more and more that was driving him completely insane. She opened her eyes and looked at him; they both continued to moan as they looked into each other's eyes. Xena placed her hands on Ulysses' arms caressing them as she continued to ride him moving faster and pressing down harder.

After a while Ulysses sat up and kissed Xena his hands caressing her back; they both moaned as they shared a passionate tasting of lips but Xena still continued to move against Ulysses. When the kiss ended Ulysses kissed and sucked on Xena's neck his hands softly caressing whatever flesh he could get his hands on. He kissed his way down her chest and while he did that, his hands caressed her arms and he felt the leather band she still wore and wanting to feel all of her he pulled it off and let it fall to the bed. He caressed her flesh then took her nipple into his mouth, Xena tilted her head back and moaned her hands now on Ulysses' shoulders holding on. She leaned back so much her hair was touching the bed as she continued to move against him at this angle and Ulysses moaned as he kissed his way down to her stomach sucking and kissing the beads of sweat away. He then suddenly pulled Xena up and she placed her hands on his arms her hair making a black curtain; Ulysses grinned at her and she grinned as he pulled her hair back placing it behind her ear as he leaned in and kissed her passionately.

They kissed for a while and as they kissed Xena wrapped her arms around Ulysses' shoulders as she raised herself up and lowered herself down. Ulysses moaned as he held her close to him while the kiss deepened. He caressed her back, his hands going to her butt where he squeezed the flesh. Ulysses lay back down bringing Xena with him and he let her stay on top a while longer before he rolled her onto her back and continued making love to her. Xena moaned in pleasure as she caressed Ulysses' sweaty back her fingers digging into his flesh massaging his muscles. The sheet clung to their sweaty bodies and Xena found herself kissing, sucking and even biting on Ulysses' muscled arms. The pleasure was feeling so good now she wanted to scream but instead she ran her nails over Ulysses' shoulder then caressed his back before she ran her nails over his back. They rolled around on the bed constantly, each wanting to be on top just to get better and more access to the other. Their limbs were tangled together and they were tangled in the sheet as they continued to roll around on the bed making passionate love to one another.

Xena had her arm wrapped around Ulysses' shoulder as they shared a passionate kiss and to say she was a virgin Ulysses couldn't tell because she was doing things he had to teach other women who weren't virgins or new to sex. He moaned out as constantly and loudly as she did, it felt so good to be inside of her. She was so tight, wet and hot; every time he pulled out she was holding on tight to him not wanting to let him go and when he pushed back in it was like she was sucking him back in. Time didn't seem to exist for them as they continued to roll around on the bed sometimes smiling at each other; there were times when Ulysses was on top and Xena grabbed his hair pulling his head back so that she could kiss and suck on his neck and chest. Ulysses moaned and became more excited that this woman he loved so much was taking control of him in such a manner. He brought his head down and kissed Xena passionately and she moaned as she pulled him down closer onto her the only thing holding him up now was his forearms.

Downstairs in the kitchen the Inn was crowded since it was a little passed dinner time and Cyrene was using everyone she could use to help with the crowd. "Lyceus go see if you can get Xena I really need her help," she said then let out a breath when she heard a crash, "and Ulysses'," she said and Lyceus nodded and went up to the stairs to Ulysses' room where he knocked on the door. When there was no answer he knocked again, he tried the door knob but it was locked and he let out a breath. "Xena are you in there?" Lyceus called through the door. Back in the room Xena's legs were wrapped around Ulysses' legs as he continued to thrust into her while they kissed. They heard the knocking on the door but they ignored it, this was their time to be together. They continued to kiss and make love even when they heard Lyceus' voice, "Xena its real crowded downstairs and mom needs yours and Ulysses' help," Lyceus said and they just looked into each other's eyes just before they kissed softly.

Lyceus let out a breath and headed back downstairs to the kitchen, "well?" Cyrene asked and he looked at her and shook his head, "either they're not in there or they don't want to be disturbed." Lyceus said and Cyrene nodded, "go out there and help your brother and Virgil," she said and that's what he did. "Don't want to be disturbed? That can only mean one thing," Corrinna said to Cyrene who nodded as she stirred a pot. Back in the room Xena and Ulysses were getting closer and closer to the edge; Xena could feel a pressure building up in her like it was going to take hold of her and she would fall off the cliff. "Ulysses," Xena moaned with some fear in her voice and he looked at her, "let go, I've got you my love," he whispered to her and she opened her eyes and looked into his. With a few more thrusts she fell off the edge, "Unnnngh…Aaahhhh," she moaned as she looked into Ulysses' eyes sharing her soul with him and he looked into her eyes seeing tears roll down the sides of her face. Between her sharing her soul with him and her muscles contracting around him, he fell of right behind her, "Un…un…un…unnnn," Ulysses groaned in pleasure as he released his seed into Xena.

He kissed her softly on the lips as he continued to thrust a little faster and she whimpered in pleasure but responded to the kiss. "Aahhhhh," she cried out as another release rippled through her body and Ulysses moaned as she pulled him with her. Never had he had another release right after one and he moaned as he kissed Xena passionately and she moaned as she returned the kiss. Finally when all the tremors were gone Ulysses stopped moving; they were both breathing hard and their hearts were racing. Ulysses' lips rested against Xena's lips and he looked into her eyes as he caressed her hair. Xena looked into his eyes seeing the love he had for her and she felt it as well, she felt it in her heart the love he had for her and the love she had for him. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked at Ulysses, "I love you so much," Xena said and Ulysses grinned, "I love you too," he said then kissed her softly. When the kiss ended Xena hugged Ulysses and he returned the hug, "thank you for giving me the gift of you," Ulysses whispered to Xena then placed a kiss on her shoulder.

When the hug ended Ulysses eased himself out of Xena and fell onto his back letting out a breath, "wow that was great," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she held the sheet to her chest. Ulysses turned his head and looked at her, "come here," he said holding his arm out to her and Xena moved into Ulysses' arms laying her head on his chest her arm going around his stomach. Her leg went between his and he caressed her arm that was on his stomach and his fingers caressed her back. He placed a kiss on her forehead then looked down at her, "you alright?" He asked and Xena nodded, "yea, I guess it's just sinking in," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her. "What?" He asked and she let out a breath as she ran her fingers over his chest, "that it was no where near like last time. I mean there was a little pain but that was to be expected, but it was everything that I imagined, everything that I dreamed it would be that I wanted it to be."

Xena said then raised up on her elbow and looked at Ulysses, "you fulfilled my dreams in every way imaginable. I always wanted my first time to be full of love and passion and you gave me that and more." Xena said as she caressed Ulysses' cheek and he grinned at her then closed his eyes as she leaned down and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended Ulysses smiled as he turned on his side and Xena lay on her side making sure the sheet covered her important parts. "You know you were great," Ulysses said as he placed a lock of Xena's hair behind her ear and she grinned at him. "I've bet you've had better," Xena said her way of seeing actually how good she was in his eyes. "Truthfully? Yes I've had great sex before Xena but it doesn't compare to what you and I shared tonight. You touched me, my heart and soul, creating feelings in me no woman ever has. Xena I've never expressed my pleasure that much but tonight I couldn't help myself, your touch was setting me on fire. I didn't want you to stop touching me, stop kissing me, nothing; I just wanted to keep making love to you until we could no longer."

Ulysses said and Xena grinned then looked down and Ulysses could see she was smiling he moved closer to her and leaned down and whispered to her. "I was beginning to question if you were a virgin you were so good," Ulysses said smiling when Xena's smile got larger. He took her lips in a soft passionate kiss and when it ended they looked into each other's eyes. Xena brought her hand up to Ulysses' cheek and caressed it, "was the pleasure great for you? Did I fulfill you in that department?" Ulysses asked as he brushed his lips against Xena's and she grinned as she brushed her lips against his, "you were alright," she said and Ulysses pulled back and looked at Xena. He looked into her eyes and saw humor there and he could tell she was joking with him especially when the grin came to her lips. "Funny, very funny. So I'm back to being alright again?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned as she hunched her shoulders, "yea you were alright," she said and he grinned and nodded.

"Well I guess I'll just have to show you how great I can be," he said and she smiled at him, "I guess so," she said then moaned as they kissed. She smiled into the kiss as Ulysses rolled her onto her back and settled himself between her legs; she opened her legs wide for him as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder. The kiss they shared deepened and Xena moaned as Ulysses pushed into her. They kissed with Ulysses sucking on Xena's lips and she moaned as she looked at Ulysses; there was no pain this time only the sensation of him stretching her as he pushed into her. "Ssss…Unngh," Xena moaned as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair while he pulled out and pushed back in. "Unnnn," Ulysses moaned then leaned down and kissed Xena. They made love once again and Xena had to admit it was great it was out of this world. She didn't know if it was that way because she was new to it but then she thought that couldn't be it because she was feeling the sensations the pleasure down to her soul.

She knew that was all Ulysses, it was him and their love for each other that made making love so great. This time their session lasted for two hours and they were both sweaty and breathing hard. Ulysses leaned his head against Xena's chest as he tried to catch his breath, "geeze," he said as he rolled off of Xena pulling the sheet so he didn't lay on it. He looked up at the ceiling as he tried to calm his pounding heart _'who knew I could go so long'_ he thought to himself then looked at Xena as she lay next to him on her side running her fingers over his sweaty chest. She leaned down and kissed him softly and Ulysses brought his hand up and caressed Xena's hair. They tasted each other's lips both moaning and when the kiss ended Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as she caressed his cheek. "I take it back, you are absolutely great," Xena said and Ulysses grinned at her then rose up and kissed her softly again.

When the kiss ended Xena rolled on her side away from Ulysses pulling the sheet they were tangled in up to her chest and it covered her all the way down to her knees. Ulysses moved up behind her on his side; he moved up close so that his body was pressed against hers and their legs were tangled together. He wrapped his arm around her then leaned forward and placed soft kisses on her shoulder as he caressed her arm. Xena grinned then let out a breath as she felt like she was enveloped in a blanket of love. They lay there in silence for a while Ulysses caressing Xena and as he leaned in and put a kiss on Xena's arm he looked at the tattoo there. He caressed the tattoo then placed a kiss on it, "so Athena has been training you," Ulysses said and Xena nodded then turned slightly on her back and looked at Ulysses. "She wants me to be her chosen," Xena said and Ulysses nodded.

"You would be the perfect candidate; you're brave, bold, wise, eager to learn, you know how to fight." Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "you don't have a problem with it?" She asked and he shook his head then placed another kiss on the tattoo, "no, why would I? You have your own path Xena, your own destiny, far be it for me to stand in the way. As I've told you before, I love the woman you are and I will stand by you in what you want to do and the woman you want to become." Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes then grinned as she shook her head and turned back on her side. "I swear sometimes you're not real or I'm in a dream," she said and Ulysses smiled then placed a kiss on Xena's neck. "If it is a dream I hope we never wake up," Ulysses said and Xena smiled and nodded. Ulysses looked at Xena as she let out a breath and closed her eyes preparing to go to sleep he knew she had to be tired because he was tired their two sessions of love making having worn them out.

"Ithaca," he said, "what?" Xena asked as she turned her head and looked at him, "I'm from Ithaca," he said and Xena looked into his eyes. "You didn't have to tell me," she said and he looked into her eyes. "But I wanted to, I needed to, I was tired of hiding it," he said and Xena looked into his eyes. "Thank you for telling me," Xena said, "I love you Xena, I don't want us to have any secrets," Ulysses said even though he was still keeping the very big secret of who he was from her. Xena nodded, "I love you too," she said and Ulysses leaned down and kissed her softly. "Let's get some rest," Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded. They lay there in each other's arms and in five to ten minutes they were asleep. They slept peacefully the whole night more peacefully than they had ever slept. When morning came and the sun was beginning to rise, Xena opened her eyes and took in her surroundings.

She looked down at Ulysses' arm around her and grinned when she remembered last night _'I did it. Ulysses and I finally made love and it was all I ever dreamed of. He touched me and made me feel things that I didn't even know were possible; in fact I don't even regret it I loved making love to him.'_ Xena thought to herself then rolled over and looked at Ulysses as he continued to sleep. She reached out and caressed his cheek then leaned in and kissed him softly. Ulysses moaned as he woke up then added pressure to the kiss. "Mmmm…good morning to you too," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him as she looked into his eyes. "How are you feeling this morning?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him, "I feel great," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "No regrets?" He asked and Xena grinned, "none what so ever," Xena said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "That's good," he said then raised up and kissed Xena softly. They softly tasted each other's lips until they heard a whining noise. The kiss ended and they looked at each other, "oh," Xena said as she remembered the wolf cub.

She leaned over the side of the bed and looked down at the cub, who was looking up at her and when he saw her he stood up on his hind legs placing his paws on the bed. Xena reached down and picked him up, "Xena don't put that wolf…" Ulysses started saying then let out a breath when she sat it on the bed. She rubbed behind his ears and he licked her hand and nibbled on her finger then looked at Ulysses who was still laying down on his side. "What?" Ulysses asked the wolf who looked at him then growled with his puppy voice, "don't growl at me," Ulysses told the wolf and Xena chuckled at them. "He needs a name," Xena said as she laid back down on her side holding the sheet to her chest, "I could care less what you name it," Ulysses said as he looked at the cub who blinked his yellow eyes then walked over to Ulysses and licked his face. "Uh…stop that," Ulysses said as he pushed the wolf away and Xena chuckled as she picked the cub up and moved it away from Ulysses.

"He's just showing you affection," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked at the wolf who was snuggling up to Xena, "hey that's my girl," Ulysses told the wolf who just looked at him. Ulysses shook his head at the animal then looked at Xena who was petting the cub and he saw how she practically glowed with happiness. He picked up her hand and brought it up to his lips where he kissed it; she grinned at him as she looked into his eyes then leaned in and kissed her passionately. Xena moaned into the kiss and when it ended she looked into his eyes then sat up on the side of the bed holding the sheet to her chest as she leaned down on the floor and picked up her dress. "Where are you going?" He asked and Xena looked at him as she walked around the room looking for her underwear which turned out to be in the bed. "I'm sure everyone is wondering where we are, especially since Lyceus was knocking on the door last night and we didn't answer." Xena said as she put on her underwear and Ulysses looked at her as he grabbed his pants from off the floor, seeing where the cub made a place for him to sleep.

"I need to take a shower and so do you and we need to get back to things like everything is the same and nothing has happened." Xena said as she looked around the room for her shoes, "but everything's not the same," Ulysses said as walked over to Xena who looked at him. "We made powerful love last night and it was great," he said as he wrapped his arms around Xena and she grinned then moaned as he leaned in and kissed her passionately. Xena moaned as she wrapped her arm around Ulysses' shoulder while they passionately tasted each other's lips. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes and Xena grinned as she caressed Ulysses cheek, "yes but everyone doesn't need to know that." Xena said then turned and picked up her shoes, "don't be all day," she told him then unlocked the door and walked out of it. "Hey you forgot the wolf," Ulysses yelled after her, "bring him down with you," she yelled back and Ulysses grinned and shook his head as he closed the door.

Xena went down to her room where she took off her clothes and placed her shoes on the floor then grabbed a towel off a shelf in her room and wrapped it around her naked body and left her room to go to the bathing room. Once there she took a shower and when she ran the cloth between her legs there was a little blood probably from last night but she wasn't sore and she wasn't bleeding nearly as bad as she had her first time. When she was done with her shower she dried off wrapped the towel back around her then went back to her room and got dressed for today. She put on her brown leather skirt and a blue sleeveless shirt which she tucked into her skirt. She sat down and put on her boots then brushed her hair back into a ponytail. When she was ready for the day she went upstairs to the kitchen where her mother was already at work.

"Good morning mom," Xena said and Cyrene turned and looked at her daughter, "good morning dear." She said and Xena went about the kitchen helping her mother prepare breakfast. "Well where were you last night?" Toris asked as he walked into the kitchen with Lyceus behind him, "I was busy, why?" Xena asked her brother, "we needed you and Ulysses last night and you guys were no where to be found or either you were in your room or his and ignored Lyceus." Toris said and Xena shook her head at her brother, "whatever Toris," Xena said as she began whipping up some eggs. Fifteen minutes passed and during that time Virgil came into the kitchen as did Corrinna and Ulysses came last with the wolf in his hands. "Xena will you take this thing, it's been whining ever since you've left." Ulysses said as he walked over to her, "I'm cooking right now but will you do me the favor and walk him outside for a bit."

Xena said and Ulysses was about to object when Xena looked at him, "please," she said and he let out a breath. "Please, please, please," she whined just like he whined the other day and he smiled as he shook his head. "You are so wrong for that," Ulysses said as he turned and headed to the backdoor to let the cub out to do his business. "So you were in Ulysses' room last night," Toris said and Xena rolled her eyes as she let out her breath. "Toris for your information I've been sleeping in Ulysses' room and he's been sleeping in mine. What we do behind closed doors is none of your business," she told her brother as she sat a bowl of mixed fruit down on the table and he looked at her. "You shouldn't be sleeping with Ulysses or any guy before you're married," Toris said and Xena looked at her brother. "You're pushing your luck Toris," Xena told her brother.

"You're sleeping with him, you're having sex with him," Toris said, "Toris that's enough," Cyrene said to her son and he looked at her. "Are you just going to let her do that?" Toris asked and Cyrene looked at him, "Toris your sister is a grown woman who can make her own decisions." She said, "yea, well this one is the wrong decision," he said and Xena looked at him. "Where do you get off telling me I've made the wrong decision? You don't even know if I've had sex with Ulysses, you're just assuming. And if I have had sex with him, it's my business not yours, so I'm telling you now leave it alone." Xena said and Toris walked over to his sister getting ready to say something when Lyceus stood between them, "alright that's enough." He said as he looked back and forth between them, "Toris, Xena has a point she is a grown woman and this is her life," Lyceus said then turned to Xena. "Toris is right too Xena, you shouldn't be sleeping with Ulysses," Lyceus said and Xena threw her arms up in the air.

They all turned towards the door as Ulysses walked into the kitchen holding the door open for the cub who trotted in. When he looked up they were all looking at him, "what?" He asked and Toris walked over to him, "are you sleeping with my sister?" He asked him and Ulysses looked at Toris, "I don't think that's any of you're business," Ulysses said. "That answered my question," Toris said then swung and Ulysses punching him in the face. "Toris," Cyrene cried and Xena walked over to Ulysses, "are you alright?" Xena asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "fine," he said then looked at Toris. "What is your problem?" Ulysses asked and Toris looked at him, "my problem is you're having sex with my sister." Toris said and Ulysses looked at Xena who said with her eyes she hadn't said anything so he looked back at Toris. "First of all don't brace up to me like that again, secondly, if you hit me again I promise you I'll break your jaw." Ulysses said as he spoke to Toris who looked at him with fire in his eyes.

"Third, Xena is a grown woman who can make her own choices, if she chooses to sleep with me than that's her business and mine not yours or anyone else's." Ulysses said, "wrong, it is my business," Toris said, "and mine," Lyceus said. "Like Tartarus it is," Xena said and they looked at her. "I'm only going to say this once so listen to me well; my relationship with Ulysses is our business, mine and Ulysses. Not yours, mothers, Corrinna's, Virgil's or anyone else's. Am I making myself clear?" Xena asked and they all looked at her, "so if Ulysses and I are having sex read my lips, IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS," she said. Toris and Lyceus looked at her and Lyceus was the first to leave the kitchen followed by Toris and Virgil looked at Xena and Ulysses. "Are we still having breakfast because I don't care if you guys are having sex. I would care even less if I were having sex," Virgil said and they grinned at him.

"Yes Virgil we're still having breakfast, why don't you go and see if you can calm down Toris and Virgil?" Cyrene said and he nodded as he stood and walked out of the kitchen. Xena looked at Ulysses who was leaning against the counter fingering his jaw; she walked over to him and placed her hand on his cheek as she looked at his jaw. "I'm sorry about that," she said and he let out a breath, "I wish everyone would stop hitting me when they're angry," Ulysses said then winced as Xena pushed on a sore spot. She walked over to the sink and soaked a cloth in cold water then squeezed it out and walked back over to Ulysses placing the cloth on his jaw. "I don't know why they're so upset," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her as he wrapped his arm around her pulling her close to him. "They're you're brothers, I guess I would be the same way with Camilla," Ulysses said and Xena let out a breath then removed the cloth and sat it on the counter as she looked at his jaw.

"It shouldn't swell," Xena said and Ulysses wrapped his other arm around her as he looked into her eyes. "I'm sure they'll get over it sooner or later," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she placed her hands on his muscled arms. She grinned as did he as they leaned in for a kiss; the kiss they shared was a passionate tasting of lips. Cyrene elbowed Corrinna who turned and looked at Xena and Ulysses kiss. Xena moaned as she wrapped her arm around Ulysses' shoulder while her other hand ran over his chest. When the kiss ended, they grinned at each other; Ulysses went into his pocket and took out something, "you left this," he whispered to her and she looked down at her leather band in his hand. "I was looking for it, where was it?" Xena asked as she took it from him and put it on, "between the sheets," he whispered to her then placed a kiss on her cheek. Xena smiled then turned and kissed Ulysses' softly when the kiss ended she caressed his cheek, "I need to finish breakfast," she said and he nodded.

"I guess I'll go keep an eye on things," Ulysses said and Xena nodded and watched him walk out of the kitchen. Xena let out a breath then looked down at the cub at her feet who was wagging his tale. "I bet you're hungry," she said and he stood up on hind legs and put his paws on her legs and licked her leg making Xena grin. "How about some leftover venison," Xena said as she went to the cooler and pulled out some of the stewed venison from last night. She warmed it up in a pan then placed it in an old bowl and placed it on the floor by the door. The cub ran over and began eating the food as if he hadn't eaten in days; she also placed a bowl of water down for him. "You still need a name," she said to the puppy watching as he ate. "You know I didn't even check to see if you were a girl or a boy," Xena said then picked the puppy up. "No growling," she said to the cub as he growled in frustration as he was taken from his food.

She turned the cub onto his back and found what she was looking for, "well what do you know, you're a girl," Xena said then placed her on her feet and she ran back over the bowl and continued eating. "How about Gemini? I think that's a good name for you," Xena said. "I like that name," Cyrene said and Xena turned her head and grinned at her mom, "sounds exotic doesn't it?" Xena asked and Cyrene nodded and Xena nodded as she looked back down at the wolf, "Gemini it is," she said then let out a breath and stood and went back to preparing breakfast. The day passed by with Toris and Lyceus not talking to either Ulysses or Xena. Xena's thoughts were filled with her brothers all day, Toris she could understand but Lyceus, he was always the only one who ever understood her and now she couldn't understand why he was acting this way. With the festival over things were shutting down and going back to normal except for the fact that Ulysses seemed to be a star everyone loving his voice.

People were leaving the Inn but things were still kind of crazy so an hour after lunch Xena took some time to herself and went to the stable of course with Gemini following her. She introduced the wolf to Argo then began talking and brushing her horse, "honestly Argo I don't understand why they're acting that way." Xena told the horse who neighed, "maybe you should talk to them without me around and ask them," Ulysses said as he walked into the barn and Xena looked at him then back at Argo as she fed her a piece of apple. Ulysses locked the door then looked down at Gemini who came running over to him, "what do you want?" Ulysses asked her, "her name is Gemini," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her as he walked over to her. "The wolf's a girl?" Ulysses asked and Xena nodded then leaned back into Ulysses as he stood behind her wrapping his arms around her. "I missed you today," he whispered to her and Xena nodded then turned around and looked into Ulysses' eyes. "I missed you too, I'm sorry I've been so occupied today," Xena said and Ulysses brought his hand up to push some of Xena's hair back.

"It's alright, I know you have a lot on your mind," he said and Xena nodded as she ran her hands over his chest, "yea but I would much rather be thinking about you and I." Xena said, "I might be able to help you with that," Ulysses said then leaned in and kissed Xena softly. They stood there and softly tasted each other's lips but soon the kiss began to deepen, "mmmm," Xena moaned as she pushed into Ulysses and she found herself wanting him in a way she had wanted him many times before but wouldn't cross that line because she was a virgin. Now however, that was no longer the case, still hesitantly she brought her hands up and began to unbutton his shirt. The kiss ended and Ulysses looked into Xena's eyes and she looked into his eyes then leaned in and kissed him. After a couple of minutes the kiss ended and Ulysses took Xena's hand and led her over to an empty stall filled with hay. There were two blankets near by and he lay one down on the hay and the other he placed to the side. He kicked off his boots then turned and looked at Xena who walked up to him and pushed his shirt off of his shoulders letting it fall to the floor.

She ran her hands over his chest and they leaned in and kissed; as they kissed Xena undid Ulysses' belt and it fell to the ground as well and next she started undoing his pant. Ulysses moaned into the kiss as pulled Xena's shirt out of her skirt and ran his hands under her shirt to caress her back. He pulled her close to him and continued to caress her until his hands made work of undoing her skirt and it fell to the ground. Xena kicked it away and now she stood there only in her underwear and shirt; their kissing began to deepen both of them moaning as they taste and sucked on each other's lips. They both got down to their knees and Ulysses lowered Xena down onto the soft hay and when the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes. Xena ran her hands over Ulysses' shoulders down his arms and he grinned at her and she grinned at him as he lowered down and kissed her softly. Time passed and they lay there kissing and caressing each other managing to get completely naked in the process only the other blanket covering them now.

Like last night Ulysses explored Xena's body to the fullest and she did the same; she loved it when he kissed her entire body but what she was becoming to love most was his tenderness when they made love. When he was between her legs tasting her sweet nectar he was so tender and loving; his tongue caressed her so softly and his lips kissed her so passionately in those intimate places. What Ulysses loved most was everything Xena did; from the moment she kissed his lips from the time she started kissing and sucking on his neck, making her way down to his chest and over his nipples down to his stomach. When she got to his erect cock she pleasured him like no one else ever had and that fact that she was tender yet some how firm in her touch it made his pleasure rise to heights he had never known before. Time wasn't an issue for them; Ulysses was lying between Xena's legs as they shared a passionate kiss. He was posed at her entrance ready to enter her; he brought Xena's arms up to the side of her head.

As they continued to kiss he ran his hands up her arms until his fingers intertwined with hers and they held hands almost painfully. When he pushed in Xena moaned into the kiss then broke it, "Unnngh," Xena moaned as she looked at Ulysses and he looked at her as he kissed her chin. He moaned as Xena opened her legs wider letting him go deeper and then he pulled out and pushed back in. "Ummm…gods you feel so good," Ulysses moaned as he placed a kiss on Xena's cheek and she moaned as she caressed his back. They initiated their kissing again and the kisses varied from passionate to soft and tender as they made love. An hour passed and the pleasure was extreme; they rolled around on the hay getting tangled in the blankets and hay. Xena laughed at Ulysses as she picked a piece a straw from his hair and he smiled as he leaned down and resumed their kissing. Ulysses loved when Xena was on top, he got to caress her back and there where times when the pleasure she was creating was so good his fingers dug into her back and sometimes his nails raked over her skin.

"Ummmmm," Xena moaned as Ulysses' nails ran over her back while his other hand held her hair as they kissed; he eased Xena onto her back her leg caressing his and Ulysses moaned as he caressed the soft skin of her thigh. When the kiss ended they were both a little breathless as they looked into each other's eyes and Ulysses continued to thrust into Xena at a medium pace. They were both moaning in pleasure some cries leaving Xena's mouth and she looked at Ulysses as she ran her fingers through his hair while the other caressed his back. He looked at her then leaned down and kissed her softly, "Unnngh," Xena moaned as Ulysses rose up on his hands adding more depth to his thrusts. "Do you love me?" Xena asked him as his lips brushed against hers, "yes," he moaned then kissed her and Xena moaned as she wrapped her arms around Ulysses her fingers running through his hair.

"I love you," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes then rose up and kissed him and they continued to make love. Twenty minutes later they finally released and they lay in the stall in the hay on their sides facing each other with the blanket covering them. They lay there sharing soft kisses Xena running her fingers over Ulysses' chest. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes and Xena grinned, "I never imagined I could feel this way," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he picked up her hand, "neither did I but I'm so happy I've found you and that I feel the way I do." He said and she smiled as she watched him kiss the back of her hand. "I love you," Xena said and Ulysses smiled, "I love you too," he said then kissed the back of her hand again before he leaned in and kissed her. When the kiss ended they shared soft little pecks while grinning at each other. After about fifteen minutes of laying there cuddling and basking in the after glow of their love making Xena let out a breath.

"We should get dressed, I'm sure Toris and Lyceus are about to go crazy," Xena said as she sat up and grabbed her shirt putting it on then putting her underwear on. "You're probably right," he said then grabbed her arm and pulled her down onto the hay and she laughed at him as he hovered above her. "They can wait a while longer," he said with a smile then leaned down and kissed Xena and she smiled and moaned into the kiss as she wrapped her arm around Ulysses' shoulder. "You're such a bad influence," Xena said when the kiss ended and Ulysses grinned, "I know," he said then kissed her again and Xena chuckled into the kiss as she tried to get up but Ulysses pushed her back down. "I have to go," she said with laughter in her voice and Ulysses grinned at her. "Why? When we're having so much fun," Ulysses said and Xena grinned then kissed him softly, "because mother is expecting me and you're supposed to be watching the Inn," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he kissed her.

"You're right," he said and Xena nodded, "but that still doesn't mean I'm gonna let you go," he said and she laughed at him as she wrapped her arms around him and looked into his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Ulysses," she said, "Xena," he said and she smiled at him. "What would it take for you to let me up?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, "hmmm, let's see," he said as he thought about it and after a few minutes an idea came to him. "Alright I've got it," he said and she nodded, "okay what is it?" She asked and he looked down into her eyes, "I want you to write a song and sing it for me," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "Ulysses I don't write songs that's your department," Xena said and he looked at her. "You could if you tried all you have to do is think of a topic then let your feelings, your words come from your heart and what you know. That's all I do," he said and she looked at him, "alright for you I'll give it a try," she said and he nodded. "That's all I want," he said and she nodded then gave him a brief kiss, "now will you let me up?"

She asked and he let out a breath, "if I must," he said and she smiled at him as he got up then reached his hand down for Xena pulling her up. She grinned at him then looked over his body, "as impressive as you are you might want to put your clothes back on," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he grabbed his pants and put them on. "What is with this wolf?" Ulysses asked as Gemini trotted over to him then sat down and looked up at him; Xena grinned at him. "Stop calling her a wolf her name is Gemini," Xena said and Ulysses hunched his shoulders as he put his shirt on. "She's still a wolf and she's still aggravating me," Ulysses said and she looked at him as she grabbed her boots. "She's not even doing you anything," Xena said as she sat down on a bale of hay. "She's staring at me with those yellow eyes and she's a wolf," Ulysses said as he tucked his shirt into his pants then sat down on another bale of his and put his boots on.

"I have a feeling you don't like animals," Xena said as she looked at Ulysses and he looked at her, "I like them fine when their not staring me in the face like she is." Ulysses said and Xena shook her head as she ran her fingers through her hair shaking whatever leftover straw there may have been. She picked up Ulysses' belt and walked over to him, "didn't you ever have a dog when you were a kid?" Xena asked as she put Ulysses' belt on and he looked at her as he shook his head. "No, my father never let me have one," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "You wanted one though," Xena said as she ran her fingers through his hair shaking hay out as well and he let out a breath as he looked at her. "What's your point?" He asked and she looked at him as she placed her hands on her hips, "my point is stop being negative when it comes to Gemini. You'll find that you'll begin to like her and she you and she'll show you loyalty." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her then put his arms through Xena's pulling her to him.

"Yes ma'am," he said and she smiled at him then leaned in and kissed him, "I love you," Ulysses whispered to Xena when the kiss ended and she smiled as she caressed his cheek. "I love you too," she whispered back and he smiled as he leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Come on let's go," he said then looked down at Gemini who looked up at him, "come on wolf," he said as he picked her up and Xena grinned as she shook her head. "She's never gonna learn her name if you keep calling her wolf," Xena said as she walked behind Ulysses. "See you later girl," Xena said to Argo who neighed at her then walked out of the stable with Ulysses. "What's her name again?" He asked and Xena pushed him and he grinned at her, "oh yeah Gemini," he said as he looked at the wolf. "Your name is Gemini got it," he told her and she just leaned against him and Xena grinned. "I think she's in love," Xena said and Ulysses rolled his eyes at her, "please," he said and Xena smiled as she took Ulysses' hand into her own and leaned against his arm.

As they continued to walk towards the Inn Xena took Gemini from Ulysses petting her for a bit then putting her down letting her run around and walk. Xena grinned as did Ulysses as he put his arm around Xena's shoulder and she leaned into him both smiling as they watched Gemini chase a butterfly. "Oh yeah she's gonna be a real killer," Ulysses said and Xena chuckled, "she's just a cub right now but come to think of it if we let her be a wolf but keep her trained and tamed enough she could be a protector and companion." Xena said and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "like her mommy," he said as he looked down at Xena who grinned at him. "Or like her daddy," she threw back at him and he chuckled at her as he looked up at the sky. "I'm not a protector," he said as he looked down at her and she looked at him, "but you are. I heard how you dove in after that little boy risking your life, how you saved his entire family from bandits."

Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath, "do one good deed and all of a sudden I'm a hero," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him. "And anyway Virgil helped," Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "true bit Virgil didn't survive a trip over a waterfall," Xena said and Ulysses hunched his shoulders. "I had help," he said, "what do you mean?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, "when I hit the bottom of the water fall I was trying to swim back up but the water was just too powerful. Then I felt this renewed strength all of a sudden, it was as if someone carried me up to the surface and I fought the rest of the way from there but that presence who or whatever it was never left me until I was out of harm's way." Ulysses said and Xena nodded and they stopped when they were by the back door of the Inn and Xena turned and looked at him, "sounds like something Athena would do." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "could be all I know is that I'm grateful for the help. Because if I would have died I would have never known such happiness, such love and feeling so complete."

Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "I am grateful as well because if you would have died I would have remained feeling empty, lost and alone." Xena said and Ulysses caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers as he looked into her eyes, "do you ever get the feeling that we're meant to be together?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned as she walked up to Ulysses, "every time I look into your eyes, every time I'm with you, when we hold hands, when we kiss and especially when we make love and I'm looking deep into your eyes I feel the connection." Xena said as she pulled slightly on Ulysses' face while she smiled at him and he smiled at her, "well then it's nice to know I'm not alone in those thought or those feelings," he said and she smiled at him. "Kiss me," she said and he grinned as he leaned forward, "yes ma'am," he said and she chuckled then moaned as he kissed her softly yet passionately. "Mmmm…I love kissing you," Xena said with her lips so close to Ulysses' and he grinned at her. "The feeling's very mutual," he said and she grinned as they were about to kiss again.

"Xena," Lyceus called and Xena turned and looked at her brother, "you're speaking to me now?" She asked, "no, mom wants you," he said then closed the door. Xena let out a breath as she turned back and looked at Ulysses, "we'll continue this tonight," she said and he grinned at her. "Count on it," he said then kissed her softly once more before they headed into the kitchen, "come on Gemini," Ulysses called to the wolf who had found something else to jump on. The wolf looked towards the familiar voice and trotted over to Ulysses, "inside," he told her and she looked at him then towards the open door and got the point and went into the Inn. He walked in behind her then went into the dinning area while Xena helped her mother with dinner. The day went on and when it was late the Inn closed and as always Xena helped clean up while Ulysses waited for her in her room. Xena was going down to her room when she saw Lyceus walking to his room coming from the bathing room wearing only his pajama pants.

"Lyceus," Xena called, "what?" He answered and she let out a breath as she walked over to him which wasn't much since his room was across from hers. "Why are you being like this? I thought you of all people would trust me; trust that I know how to make the right decision." Xena said and he looked at her and took a step forward, "you forget, I all of people know what happened the first time you trusted a man with your heart, your body." He said and Xena looked into her brother's eyes seeing that he was just worried about her. Xena placed her hands on Lyceus' arms as she walked closer, "I've never lied to you and I won't start now. I gave myself to Ulysses last night," Xena said and Lyceus let out a breath as he looked else where but Xena turned his face back towards her. "It was wonderful Lyceus; he was wonderful; he was gentle, loving and caring with me. He took his time and didn't hurt me; my first time, my real first time, was all I ever dreamed and hoped it would be and more."

Xena said and Lyceus looked at her looked into her eyes, "I have no regrets, last night was perfect in everyway and I wish you and Toris would be happy for me. I'm in love," she said with happiness in her voice and her brother looked at her, "so I see," he said then brought his hand up to his sister's cheek and caressed it as he looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry about the way I've acted today its, just that I would have felt better if you were married to him because then I would know everything would be alright, you would be alright." Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him, "I could have sworn I was twenty and you were eighteen; I'm supposed to be looking after you not the other way around," she said and he smiled. "I'm your brother I'm supposed to look after you besides we look after each other," Lyceus said and Xena smiled. "True," she said and then they hugged each other and Xena smiled as she wrapped one arm around her brother and her other hand held his head.

"I'm happy for you," Lyceus said and Xena grinned, "I hope you find what I have found," Xena said and Lyceus let out a breath as he pulled back and looked at his sister. "I hope so too but it seems like all the girls all the same," he said and Xena grinned. "That's because around her they're probably are but you know I thought the same about all the men until Ulysses came," Xena said and Lyceus grinned and nodded. "I suppose he's waiting for you in your room," Lyceus said and Xena turned and looked at the door then back at Lyceus. "Yea," she sad and Lyceus grinned, "then go to him," he said and Xena smiled at her brother. "Goodnight," she said then turned to head to her door, "oh and don't worry about Toris, I'll talk to him," Lyceus said and Xena looked at her brother and nodded then went into her room and she went into his. When Xena walked into the room Gemini came running over to her and she grinned down at the cub as she closed the door and locked it.

She looked at Ulysses who was lying on the bed with no shirt on and the sheet covering him and his arms behind his head using them as a pillow. "I was beginning to wonder if I would be sleeping by myself," he said and she grinned as she walked over to the chair and sat down taking off her boots. "I was talking to Lyceus," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he turned on his side and looked at her, "and?" He asked and Xena stood and walked over to her dresser where she pulled out a shift, "I found out why he was upset and we worked everything out," she said as she changed into her shift. She left her dirty clothes on the floor and watched as Gemini made herself a bed. Xena cut the lantern off and got into the bed as Ulysses held up the cover for her. "What about Toris?" Ulysses asked and Xena hunched her shoulders as she ran her hand over Ulysses' shoulder and arm, "Lyceus said he would talk to him," Xena said and Ulysses nodded then grinned at Xena as she rolled him onto his back straddling his waist.

"A little underdressed aren't we?" Xena asked referring to the fact that he had on no clothes and Ulysses grinned as he ran his hands over Xena's thighs pushing the shift up. "Well it is a little hot," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she ran her hands over his chest. She leaned down on him looking into his eyes as she kissed him softly and as they kissed, Ulysses ran his hands over Xena's back and as they continued to kiss Ulysses rolled Xena onto her back lying between her legs. When the kiss ended Ulysses' smiled at Xena who caressed his cheek, "I'm not the only one underdressed," he said as he pulled Xena's shift up more feeling that she wore no underwear. Xena grinned at him then raised her head and kissed him softly and that night they made passionate love. It was an hour after midnight and Ulysses lay on his back with Xena in his arms her back facing his chest as she played with his fingers.

"You know I think I'm addicted now," Xena said and Ulysses chuckled as he placed a kiss on her neck. "I know I have every right to be addicted, with such a gorgeous and loving woman making love to me." Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she leaned down and placed a kiss on his arm and they lay there in silence for a few minutes. While still in Ulysses' arms Xena turned on her stomach and looked at Ulysses and he looked at her, "if I ask you something will you tell me the truth?" Xena asked, "of course," Ulysses said as he ran his fingers over Xena's cheek and she looked into his eyes. "You've been with a lot of women," Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and nodded. "I have I won't lie about that; there used to be a time when I was sleeping with a different woman every night, sometimes two a night. If a woman was particularly good or she spiked my interest I had another night with her."

Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes, "do you regret any of it?" She asked and he let out a breath, "I don't know Xena. I regret the women that I've hurt by breaking their hearts but…" he said then shook his head as he looked over at the wall trying to get his thoughts together. "What?" She asked him as she caressed his cheek and he let out a breath, "I slept around like that because it was expected of me; my father wanted to make sure I had sleeping around out of my system since he had set up for me to be married to a princess." Ulysses said and Xena looked at him as he looked at her, "is that what you're running from? You're father's pressuring you to get married?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, "no, well yes that among one of the many reasons why I left but I already told him I wasn't marrying Penelope though he probably didn't hear a word I said, he never hears a word I say." Ulysses said then let out a breath, "anyway yes I slept with a lot of women but they didn't mean much to me."

He said and Xena nodded as she looked at him, "except for Victoria," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "Victoria was nothing more than a good friend who let me vent to her and sleep with her, that's it. I didn't love her," he said. "But she loves you," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her as he hunched his shoulders, "I can't help that, I mean I tried to prevent it; I told her what I wanted from her and she knew what I was like." Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she looked into Ulysses' eyes caressing his cheek with her fingers before she leaned down and kissed him softly. He moaned as he used the back of his fingers to caress her cheek while they tasted each other's lips. "Mmmm…that wasn't the question I really wanted to ask though," Xena said after the kiss ended and Ulysses grinned at her. "What did you want to ask?" He asked and Xena grinned, "well, when we get further into our intimate relationship," she said as she touched Ulysses' lips then grinned as Ulysses caught her finger between his teeth.

"I want you to show me some things, you know, sexual positions," she said and Ulysses grinned as he rolled Xena onto her back and he hovered above her as he ran his hand over her thigh. "I want you to teach me how to really please you and keep you interested," she said and Ulysses grinned as he looked into Xena's eyes. "Xena you're really pleasing me now and trust me, you'll have no problems in keeping me interested. However," he said as he leaned down and placed a kiss on Xena's chin and she grinned. "If you still want me to show you," he said then sucked on her earlobe, "a couple of positions I will gladly do it." Ulysses said then looked up at Xena who smiled at him then kissed him softly, "just let me get used to the regular way first," Xena said and Ulysses grinned and nodded as he initiated another kiss. "The regular way is great," Ulysses said and to prove what he meant they made love once more that night then fell asleep.

A week passed and it seemed now that Ulysses and Xena were intimate they were getting closer and closer almost impossible to separate them. Everything was back to normal with Ulysses working around the Inn and in the fields but when he had time he was always spending it with Xena and she with him. There were times when he was busy and couldn't break away and when Xena had a break she took Argo for long runs along with Gemini training the wolf to fend for herself at times. And then she still had training which it seemed to Athena now that Xena had Ulysses in her life she was getting better and better. "I think you're almost ready," Athena said as she looked at Xena who was just finishing up the twenty laps Athena had her running and Xena looked at her. "For what?" Xena asked in a slightly breathless voice and Athena grinned at her, "a few missions just to see how you do, and then we'll get down to the real things and the real training." Athena said and Xena looked at the goddess as she took a gulp from a water skin.

"If this isn't real training what is it?" Xena asked, "training to see if you can handle being my chosen," Athena said and Xena looked at her. "I'm ready for whatever you want to throw at me," Xena said and Athena grinned at her. "I have no doubt in my mind at all," Athena said then walked over to a stone bench where she sat down and Xena sat down as well. "How's your relationship with Ulysses going?" Athena asked and Xena nodded, "it's great, I'm great, he's great," Xena said and Athena grinned. "The sex is great," Athena said and Xena looked at her, "how?" Xena asked and Athena chuckled at her, "you have the glow of a woman who is being loved quite well, plus I believe you've called out my name twice." Athena said and Xena had the decency to blush, "sorry about that," Xena said and Athena grinned and hunched her shoulders. "It's quite alright, it let's me know that my chosen is being well taken care of in more ways than one and it's nice to know you were thinking about me."

Athena said and Xena grinned at her, "I'm not your chosen yet," Xena said and Athena looked at her and grinned, "of course you are; that mark on your arm proves it, you just haven't gone through the ceremony yet." Athena said and Xena looked at her, "but I thought…" Xena said and Athena shook her head. "I've been watching you for a while Xena, since you were a child and there are many qualities I saw in you, that made me see you were special and I wasn't the only one who saw it. Artemis wanted you, Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo," Athena said and Xena looked at her. "What made you chose me?" Xena asked, "all the rest would just bring out that one quality in you they stand for. Artemis, hunt; Aphrodite, love; Ares, war and Apollo, healing. But I can bring all those out in you and more; I can help you become a woman, a warrior, a hunter a lover and a healer and balance them all. I will show you how to balance life," Athena said and Xena nodded.

"Well I'm ready and willing Athena," Xena said and Athena nodded, "good," she said. They sat there for a couple of minutes and then Xena looked at Athena, "what's on you're mind?" Athena asked, "can't you tell?" Xena asked and Athena looked at her, "I would rather you tell me than for me to read your mind," Athena said and Xena nodded. "I was wondering if you would ask Aphrodite to teach me a few things in seduction," Xena said and a small smile came to Athena's lips. "You want to seduce Ulysses," Athena stated and Xena nodded. "Yea but not just that, I want to be able to do things for him that'll just blow his mind and make him think about me all day and night. I want to keep him sexually interested, plus I just want to do those types of things. I want to learn and explore, you never know where it could come in handy," Xena said and Athena grinned and nodded. "I'll see what I can do," Athena said then looked at Xena, "it's time to take you back," she said and that's what they did.

When Xena got back to the Inn Ulysses was still working at the fields and Xena decided to go down to the lake to take a nice cool swim. When Ulysses got to the Inn it was with Gemini following him; before he could ask if Xena was back Cyrene told him she went for a swim and that's where he was headed. Gemini was still following him as he made his way towards the lake and when he got there he could hear Xena humming; he stood behind a bush as he watched her swing her feet in the water while she leaned her head back letting the sun bask her face. _'Gods she's beautiful'_ Ulysses thought to himself and then he watched as Gemini ran over to Xena who grinned as she looked down at the cub who jumped onto her lap and Xena began to pat her. "You can stop hiding," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he walked out from behind the bush and over to her. "How long have you known I was standing there?" Ulysses asked as he sat down next to Xena placing a kiss on her neck and she grinned at him, "I heard you before you even got to the bush."

Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "you're training is going good I take it," Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded then looked at him. "Where's my kiss?" She asked him and he smiled at her as he leaned in and kissed her softly yet passionately; when the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes and Xena grinned as she gave him a soft peck on the lips. "Swim with me," Xena said and Ulysses grinned, "you show me yours and I'll show you mine," he said and Xena grinned as she began to strip then dove into the water. Ulysses smiled as he stripped as well then dove in after her; Gemini barked after them. When they came up they grinned at each other, "I'll race ya," Ulysses said and Xena grinned and so they raced. "I won," Xena yelled, "no, no that was a tie," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him. "Tie my butt," Xena said and they began playfully arguing the point until they started splashing each other playing in the water. Gemini ran back and forth trying to find a way into the water until she just jumped, Xena chuckled as did Ulysses when Gemini resurfaced and began swimming.

They played with Gemini for a while and when the cub got tired they put her back on the bank and she shook the water off of her. Meanwhile Xena and Ulysses moved together in the water until they were pressed against each other Xena's arms wrapped around Ulysses and his arms wrapped around her as they shared a soft, passionate kiss. As they stayed in the water and shared kisses, Xena wrapped her legs around Ulysses and he let himself float and somehow managed to turn around in slow circles, something that Xena loved. Half an hour passed and they had stopped spinning and were just kissing and caressing each other; when a particularly passionate kiss ended Ulysses looked into Xena's eyes as he pushed into her, "unnngh," Xena moaned as she looked into Ulysses' eyes her lips caressing his. He was breathing a little hard as well as he caressed her back and they made love right there in the water; something Xena had never experienced and she loved it.

Xena was the first out of the water followed by Ulysses and they lay down on the grass in each other's arms closing their eyes and relaxing as they let the sun dry their bodies. They stayed out there for an hour more just loving to spend time with each other. Their days were pretty much like this with them spending time with each other, relaxing and having fun. It was another week later and life was good for all, well except for the fact that it seemed like all the young couples were having difficulties most of them breaking up because of them, but that wasn't anything Ulysses and Xena had to worry about. One night when Xena finished helping her mother close up the Inn for the night Xena went up to Ulysses' room and when she walked into the room she was surprised at the romantic atmosphere. She grinned as she walked into the room closing and locking the door behind her. She looked at Ulysses who was wearing his pajamas and he walked over to her with a grin on his face and a single rose in his hand. "For you," he said as he handed her the rose then placed a brief kiss on her lips and she grinned as she took the rose from him and looked around the room lit with candles.

"This is wonderful," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he walked over to the bed picking up the pouch then walked back over to Xena. "I got this for you around the festival; actually I was supposed to give this to you the first night we made love but um…well we became quite occupied." Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she took the pouch from him opening it and pulling out the contents. When she saw what it was she couldn't believe it, "oh my gods," she said as she looked at the necklace, it was the same necklace she saw at the jewelry vendor, the one she loved, the one that caught her eye. "Ulysses I can't believe…how did you know?" Xena asked and he grinned as her as he caressed her cheek, "its my job to know what makes the woman I love happy," Ulysses said and tears came to Xena's eyes as she looked at the necklace. "But it cost so much," she said and he walked up closer to her as he raised her chin and looked into her eyes. "Nothing costs too much for you; If I can get you anything Xena, anything, then it's yours," Ulysses said and a tear roll down her cheek as she looked into his eyes seeing that he meant every word.

"I love you," Ulysses said and more tears rolled down Xena's face; Ulysses placed his hands on Xena's face wiping her tears away with his thumbs. "With all that I am I love you," Ulysses said as he leaned in and kissed Xena softly. Xena moaned into the kiss as she placed her hands on Ulysses' arms pushing into him. When the kiss ended Xena grinned as she leaned her forehead against Ulysses', "I love you too, so much," Xena said and he smiled. "Will you put it on me?" Xena asked as she handed the necklace to Ulysses who grinned as Xena turned around and he put the necklace on her. Xena raised her hair so that Ulysses could fasten the necklace and when he hand he caressed her shoulders then placed a kiss on the back of her neck. Xena turned around and Ulysses looked at her, "a rare beauty wearing a rare jewel, it's a sight indeed," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him as she placed her hands back on his arms then leaned in and kissed him. "You're gonna spoil me," Xena said and Ulysses smiled as he brushed his lips against hers.

"There's nothing wrong with spoiling you; why not spoil the Queen of my world?" Ulysses asked and Xena smiled when she heard that and they shared a small kiss. "Say that again, I like it," Xena said and Ulysses grinned, "what, the Queen of my world?" He asked and Xena smiled and nodded as she leaned back in and kissed him; she wrapped her arms around Ulysses moaning into the kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair Ulysses moaning as Xena sucked on his lips and when the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes. "I have a surprise for you," Xena said and Ulysses grinned, "oh yeah? What is it?" He asked and Xena grinned, "I wrote the song," she said and he smiled, "really?" He asked and she smiled and nodded, "sing it for me," he said and she smiled at him. "Only if you dance with me," she said and he grinned as he wrapped his arms around her and she put her arms around his shoulders, looked into his eyes as they started moving in a small circle. Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes and he looked into hers grinning as she began singing.

"I don't want to go another day, so I'm telling you exactly what is on my mind. Seems like everybody's breaking up and throwing their love away but I know I got a good thing right here that's why I say. No body gonna love me better I'm gonna stick with you forever, no body gonna take me higher I'm gonna stick with you. You know how to appreciate me, I'm gonna stick with you my baby, no body ever made me feel this way I'm gonna stick with you." Xena sung and Ulysses smiled as they continued to dance and Xena smiled as well as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair. "I don't wanna go another day so I'm telling you exactly what is on my mind. See the way we are in our private lives, ain't nobody getting in between. I want you to know that you're the only one for me." When those words came out of her mouth Ulysses couldn't help but lean forward and kiss Xena. She smiled when the kiss was over and just caressed his cheek as she continued to sing, "that's why I say no body gonna love me better I'm gonna stick with you forever, no body gonna take me higher I'm gonna stick with you. You know how to appreciate me. I'm gonna stick with you my baby, nobody ever made me feel this way I'm gonna stick with you."

Xena moved closer to Ulysses and looked deeply into his eyes as her voice went high and perfect as she sung the next part of her song. "And now, ain't nothing else I could need; and now, I'm singing cause you're so, so into me. I got you and we'll be making love endlessly." Xena sung smiling at that part as did Ulysses, "I'm with you and baby you're with me." Xena sung and then the song began to pick up going back to its regular beat. "So don't you worry about people hanging around they ain't bringing us down. I know you and you know me and that's all that counts. So don't you worry about people hanging around, they ain't bringing us down. I know you and you know me and that's why I say. No body gonna love me better I'm gonna stick with you forever, no body gonna take me higher I'm gonna stick with you. You know how to appreciate me. I'm gonna stick with you my baby, nobody ever made me feel this way I'm gonna stick with you." Xena sung grinning as Ulysses picked her up and she continued to sing as he carried her over to the bed.

"No body gonna love me better I'm gonna stick with you forever, no body gonna take me higher I'm gonna stick with you. You know how to appreciate me. I'm gonna stick with you my baby," Xena continued to sing and by then she was lying in the middle of the bed with Ulysses lying between her legs. Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as she caressed his cheek and sung the last piece of the sung to him, "nobody ever made me feel this way I'm gonna stick with you." When she was finished she grinned at Ulysses who grinned back as he leaned down and kissed her softly but passionately. "Did you like it?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded as he placed kisses on Xena's neck, "I loved it," he said then rose up and looked into Xena's eyes. "In fact that's my song," he said and Xena laughed at Ulysses as she wrapped her arms around him and from there they made love.

It was a couple of hours later and they lay on the bed in each other's arms; Xena lying on her side facing away from Ulysses and he lay behind her with one hand propping up his head and the other was around Xena's waist and she was toying with his fingers. "Did you really like the song?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned as he ran his fingers through Xena's hair, "I love it; I told you that's going to be my song." He said and Xena smiled, "what you don't believe me? Watch, after we make love I'm gonna be like baby sing me my song. Or when we go for a walk Xena sing me my song," Ulysses said and Xena laughed at him and he smiled as he leaned down and placed a kiss on Xena's neck. Ulysses placed a few kisses on Xena's shoulders and she smiled as she brought her hand back and ran her fingers through his hair bring his head up so that she could kiss him. "Sing me my song," Ulysses whispered against Xena's lips and she chuckled at him, "only if you kiss me again," she said and he smiled as he leaned down and kissed Xena.

When the kiss ended she did as he asked and sung the song for him again. When she was finished they lay there in the same positions as before; Xena pulled Ulysses' arm tighter around her until she brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it. Ulysses watched as Xena kissed his hand a couple of times and he leaned down and inhaled her scent before he placed a few kisses there. "Ulysses," Xena called as she intertwined her fingers with his. "Hmm?" He answered as he placed another kiss on her shoulder, "promise me that you'll never leave, that we'll be together always," Xena said and Ulysses turned her face so that he was looking into her eyes. "I swear to you my love I will never, ever leave you and we will always be together, always." He told her and Xena saw he really meant that so she nodded then closed her eyes as Ulysses kissed her softly. When the kiss ended they held each other for the rest of the night.

**Ithaca…**

King Julian was sitting in his office at his desk reading over a petition but his mind was wandering. It had been seven months now since Ulysses was gone and things were tough on Julian. He had come to rely on his son so much he hadn't even realized it. He also realized that Ulysses was doing a great job with the security of Ithaca better than he had. His wife as still upset as was Camilla though she didn't always show it. However things were still hectic without Ulysses around so he still had his guards looking for his son. He hoped they found him soon since he was very close at being at war with one of the neighboring kingdoms.

"My lord," a soldier called from the door and Julian raised his head and looked at the guard, "yea," he said. "The guards send word that they're headed to Amphipolis to find the prince. They have a strong tip that he is there," the guard said and Julian stood. "Are they sure?" He asked, "well not totally my but Gregory is feeling really good about it. They passed a town where a couple of people said they saw men like Lucius had described but they were using different names. They also ran into a horse dealer who sold a horse to a man in Amphipolis who used Ithaca money also matching the description. But what has them most convinced is that they supposedly got a message from Lord Virgil telling them where they were and that they were okay." The guard said and Julian looked at him then walked out of the office heading to find his wife and tell her the good news.

**Continued In**

**Chapter Six: An Old Flame**

Let me know what you think, positive and negative feedback

is welcomed and encouraged. 


	6. Chapter 6

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. The songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. lol 

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together.

**Chapter Six: An Old Flame and Saying Goodbye**

Back in Amphipolis life was still great for Xena and Ulysses, it had now been five months since Ulysses had been there but it felt like a lifetime to them both, as far as them being in love was concerned and they were still spending as much time with each other as possible. Xena was in the Inn behind the bar straightening things up when she got a surprised visitor. "Hello Xena," a voice said and Xena turned around and looked at who spoke to her, surprise in her eyes. "Maphias," Xena said and he grinned at her as he walked over to the side of the bar where there was an opening. "It's great to see you," he said as he hugged her and she hugged him back, "it's good to see you too," Xena said and then she pulled back. "Wow you look amazing," Maphias said as he looked over Xena who wasn't wearing the long cloth skirt he remembered her in, but a black, leather skirt that came down to her knees and a sleeveless blue shirt.

"Thanks, you look great too," Xena said and she went back behind the bar and he walked back over to where he was. "So what are you doing here?" Xena asked and Maphias hunched his shoulders, "missed home I guess," he said and Xena nodded. "So things in Pella are good?" Xena asked and Maphias nodded, "yea they're great, farming is good so business is good. I have a nice house," he said and Xena nodded. "Sounds great," she said and he nodded as he looked down, "it is but um…" he said then looked at Xena who looked at him. "I wanted to apologize to you for the way I ended things," Maphias said and Xena nodded. "It's in the past but you should know Maphias, I'm still the same, in fact I'm actually doing what I wanted to do." Xena said and he nodded, "you're fighting?" He asked and she grinned and nodded, "I am and I love training and life is great."

Xena said, "hey Xena where do you want this?" Ulysses asked as he held a heavy box covering his face and she turned and looked at him. "Over there in the corner," Xena said and that's way Ulysses dropped the box and let out a breath. "You're mother must think I'm a god," Ulysses said as he placed his hands on his lower back and stretched back popping things back into place. Xena grinned at him as she took his hand pulling him over to the bar, "you're probably picking things up wrong," she said as she pushed down on a few spots on his back making his back feel better. "Who knew there was a right and wrong way to pick things up?" Ulysses said then closed his eyes and moaned, "you're a goddess," he said and she smiled at him as he stood and she walked up closer to him leaning in for a kiss. "Isn't that what you said last night?" She whispered to him and he grinned at her as he placed her hair behind her ear, "mmm…I think it was," he said and she smiled as they kissed. It was a soft passionate kiss and shorter than either of them would have preferred.

When the kiss ended Xena grinned as she caressed Ulysses' cheek while looking into his eyes, "where's Gemini?" She asked knowing the wolf was always around her or Ulysses. "In the kitchen begging your mother for food," he said then grabbed his shirt from the back of the bar, "she's gonna get fat for a wolf," he said as he put his shirt on. "Oh I'm sorry," Xena said as she realized Maphias was still sitting there, "Ulysses this is Maphias, Maphias this is Ulysses," Xena said introducing them and they shook hands good naturedly. "It's nice to meet you," Ulysses said, "and you," Maphias said then looked at Ulysses and Xena. "I gotta go but I'll see you in a little while for lunch," he said just before he leaned in and kissed her softly. "It was nice meeting you Maphias," Ulysses said, "you too," Maphias said then watched as Ulysses placed a kiss on Xena's cheek and headed through the kitchen.

"So…are you and he married?" Maphias asked and Xena grinned as she looked at him, "no, why?" Xena asked as she leaned on the bar and looked at him. "Just wondering," he said and Xena looked at him and nodded, "then you're a couple?" Maphias asked and Xena nodded as she went about finishing what she was doing. "Well I better get going, I'll see you later Xena," Maphias said and Xena nodded as she watched him walk away then shook her head. When lunch came she was in the kitchen waiting on Ulysses and when he, Virgil and her brothers came in, she grabbed the basket and pulled him right back out of the door. They walked to one of their spots, which was on a hill where you could look out at the water giving them a nice view and on this hill, was a very large tree, which they sat under on a blanket or in Ulysses' case, he was lying on his side eating. "You know you shouldn't eat while lying down," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her as he sat his chicken bone down on the plate.

"Oh and eating while leaning back is better?" He asked her since she was leaning against him and she grinned as she looked at him, "well I'm eating fruit," she said and Ulysses rose up on his elbows then leaned down and kissed Xena softly. "Mmm…strawberries," he said as he chewed a piece of strawberry he took from Xena's mouth and she grinned at him. "Ulysses," Xena called, "hmmm?"

He answered as he lay flat on his back relaxing, "I here Ithaca is a beautiful island," Xena said and Ulysses grinned. "It is," he said then looked at Xena. "We have a garden that's so beautiful, I know you'd love the many flowers there and the ponds and just the fact that is peaceful and quiet." He said and Xena grinned, "sounds wonderful," she said and he nodded as he lay there thinking about his home, "it is," he said and Xena nodded. "If it was so wonderful why did you leave?" Xena asked and Ulysses let out a breath as he sat up, "I was suffocating there Xena, I didn't know who I was, I knew who I was supposed to be and what was expected of me but I didn't know."

Ulysses said, "and do you know who you are now?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her and shook his head, "no," he said and Xena grinned at him as she caressed his cheek and he leaned into her touch. "Ulysses you are who you choose to be, if you want to be a farmer, be a farmer, if you want to be a warrior, be warrior. Be whatever you want to be, as long as it makes you happy," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Sounds good," he said and Xena grinned and nodded, "now here's a piece of advice you really need to take," Xena said as she looked into the eyes of the man she loved. "Stop running," she said and he looked, "I'm not…" he started to say but Xena grinned slightly as she shook her head at him. "Yes you are and you need to stop, stop running from whatever it is you're running from and face it head on. Problems can never be solved by running from them." Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked away and Xena looked at him, "you say you want your father to listen to you, to take you more seriously than he has been, well in order for him to do that, you have to stop running.

You have to go back to him, face him and really tell him how you feel, then tell him if things don't change you will leave for good. You might not want to hear it," Xena said as she turned his face back towards her and looked into his eyes, "you are a man, a wonderful man with a wonderful heart and it's time that you let everyone else, especially your father and the rest of your family, see that. Ulysses you have responsibilities at home and one day you're going to have to go back home and face them, instead of running from them." Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he looked into her eyes, "I know I just…I'm afraid that if I go back home, everything will be the same. Nothing will have changed when everything has changed, I'm afraid I'll start to feel like I'm dying again," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes as she took her hand and placed it in his, intertwining their fingers and brining them up to her heart, as she looked into his eyes. "As long as we are together, as long as you have me, I promise you, you will never know that feeling.

Sweetheart I know how you felt, you felt alone, lost and empty," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "I know because I felt those same things, but now that I'm with you, now that we are together and we have joined ourselves in so many ways, I no longer feel empty, lost and alone. Being with you has made me feel fuller than ever, you, Ulysses, helped me find myself and when I'm with you and even when I'm not, I know I'm not alone." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "I feel the same," he said and she grinned as she leaned in and kissed him. "I know, I see it in your eyes," Xena said and Ulysses grinned. "Oh Ulysses I'm not trying to make you leave, I don't ever want you to leave, I just want you to see that you can't solve anything by running from it and one day its all going to catch up to you. I just want you to be ready for it," Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "you're right and thank you for your advice. I never thought about it the way you just explained it to me, I basically thought if I could get away from Ithaca then everything would be all right, even though in the back of my mind I know otherwise."

Ulysses said and Xena nodded then laughed as Ulysses pushed her down on the ground and hovered above her, "have I ever told you how much I love you?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned as she ran her hands over Ulysses' arms, "well you did say it last night but not today," she said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "Well I love you so much," he said then leaned down and kissed her. "Mmmm…I love you," she said and Ulysses grinned as he rested his forehead against Xena's and she smiled at him as she caressed his cheek. "So what is Maphias doing here?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned, "why, are you jealous?" Xena asked and Ulysses huffed at that, "please, I have your heart as much as you have mine, there is no reason for me to be jealous." He said and Xena grinned at him, "is there?" He asked after a minute and Xena chuckled at him as she shook her head, "no my love, there is no reason for you to be jealous. I am yours and yours alone," Xena said as she looked into his eyes then rose up and kissed him, softly tasting his lips.

"Mmmmm," Ulysses moaned as he caressed Xena's thigh and Xena moaned as the kiss deepened. When it ended Ulysses looked into Xena's eyes, "I am so lucky to have you," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes, "as I am you," she said. They were about to kiss again when there was a pink light followed by a giggle," Ulysses rolled off of Xena and they both stood up quickly. "Whoa, chill," Aphrodite said as she looked at them both, "I see Athena has been doing well with her chosen," the goddess said and Xena looked at her. "You're Aphrodite," Xena said and the goddess giggled as she walked up closer to Xena with a sexy walk. "The one and only gorgeous," Aphrodite said then turned and looked at Ulysses. "Not bad," she said then walked over to Ulysses getting a closer look as she looked over his body, then grabbed his arms feeling the muscles. "Not bad at all," she said and Ulysses looked at her then swallowed hard at her attractiveness and he cleared his throat as he stepped back.

She smiled at him, "loyal, a rare quality in a man when it comes to the one he loves," Aphrodite said then backed up and looked at them both. "I've come here to present you both with a gift," Aphrodite said then held out her hands and a golden box appeared. "What is it?" Ulysses asked and Aphrodite grinned at him, "it's for both of you to find out. I trust you know by now that you are meant to be together." She said and they looked at her then at each other, "we do feel it," Xena said, "a bond, that pulls us together." Ulysses finished and Aphrodite grinned at them, "you two share a very unique, very strong bond.

What you feel is strong now but believe me when I say, it can and will get stronger," Aphrodite said then walked up close to them. "What's in this box, is something that will help you two stay connected and when your bond grows to its strongest, I will give you another gift." Aphrodite said then placed the box in Xena's hands and she looked at the goddess, "this is a special gift for you two only, so only you two can open this box and since you share a bond, you both have to open the box together. From there you'll know what to do, believe me," Aphrodite said and they looked at her.

"Thank you," Ulysses said and she grinned at him, "you're welcome stud. Well now that that's done, I have bodacious waves to catch, later," she said and they watched as she disappeared in a shower of pink sparkles and rose petals. "What do you suppose is in there?" Ulysses asked and Xena hunched her shoulders, "we'll see later. Why don't we get back to the Inn?" Xena said and Ulysses nodded and began picking up their things and they headed back to the Inn. When they got there Xena took the box up to Ulysses' room, smiling as Gemini jumped all over her and Ulysses, happy to see them both.

"I'll see you later," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she grabbed his shirt, pulling him to her as she walked up closer to him and kissed him softly tasting his lips. When the kiss ended Ulysses smiled at Xena and she smiled back, "you make it so hard to leave," Ulysses said and Xena grinned. "I know," she said as she wiped below his bottom lip and he shook his head then gave her another small kiss. When the kiss ended, he smiled at her as he caressed her cheek then turned and walked out of the door and Xena grinned at him, "stay," he told Gemini who looked at him, then turned and headed back over to Xena and Ulysses winked at her before he left.

"It's so good to see my daughter in love," Cyrene said and Xena grinned as she sat down at the table and Cyrene walked over placing a bowl of potatoes down in front of Xena along with a knife. "It feels good," Xena said and Cyrene nodded as she sat down at the table with her own bowl of potatoes. "And you are intimate now?" Cyrene asked and Xena looked at her mother, "yes," she said and Cyrene nodded. "As long as you're okay with it and he's treating you well, I don't have a problem with it Xena," her mother said and Xena nodded.

"He treats me wonderful mother, he's a fantastic lover, he takes his time, explores my body and makes me feel so many things, great things that I didn't even know were possible to feel. Making love to him is…" Xena said then sat there and thought about a word and when she couldn't find one she smiled, "I can't even begin to describe how good it is." Xena said and Cyrene smiled at her daughter, "I bet you're finding you want to be with him all the time." Cyrene said and Xena smiled and nodded, "all the time. And it's not just sexually, though the gods now I want him that way all the time," Xena said and Cyrene chuckled.

"But it's more than that, I don't know how to explain it mom. It's like when I'm not with him, I'm thinking about him, thinking about being with him. When I'm with him, I'm still thinking about him but when we're together there's only us. We talk, we laugh, we play and during all of that we manage to put in caresses and kisses." Xena said with a smile on her face as she peeled the potatoes then cut them into blocks. "It sounds like you think Ulysses is the one for you," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her then down at her potatoes, "I feel that we are meant to be together," Xena said and Cyrene looked at her.

"But?" She asked and Xena let out a breath as she looked at her mother, "I know where he's from but he's still hiding who he is from me. And I know he's afraid of what I'll think of him but with the love we share, you'd think he'd at least take the chance." Xena said and Cyrene nodded, "true but you'll come to learn that men aren't always good with their emotions. They're supposed to be strong, so they keep everything bottled up and you'll have to work to get it out of them." Cyrene said and Xena nodded, "I guess so but I just give him time, hoping he'll come to me on his own and tell me."

Xena said and Cyrene nodded and they talked a little bit more about the subject then switched to another subject. "So I hear Maphias is back in town," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her mother and nodded. "He stopped by earlier before lunch," Xena said. "And?" Cyrene asked, "and what?" Xena asked back and Cyrene looked at her daughter shaking her head. "Come on Xena what did he want?" Cyrene asked and Xena hunched her shoulders, "he apologized for the way and reason he broke up with me. He talked a little about his life in Pella and it seemed to me he was hinting around he and I getting back together but he lost the nerve to ask me once he saw Ulysses and I kiss." Xena said and Cyrene nodded, "he didn't realize he had a good thing until he lost it," Cyrene said and Xena nodded, "until he lost it and somebody else picked it up." Xena said and they both chuckled. The rest of the day passed and half an hour before dinner Ulysses and the others came in from the fields and cleaned up for dinner.

Since it wasn't crowded in the Inn yet, they ate in the dinning area at one of the back tables. Xena, Cyrene and Corrinna were bringing the food out when Xena saw that Maphias was sitting at the table talking to Toris and Virgil. "Oh hey Xena, I hope you don't mind, Toris invited me to stay for dinner," he said and she gave him a small grin. "Of course not," Xena said then headed back into the kitchen to grab a pitcher of water and one of cider, "I'm going to kill Toris," Xena said and Cyrene looked at her daughter. "Why, what has he done now?" She asked, "he invited Maphias to stay for dinner," Xena said and Cyrene shook her head, "well Xena, all you can do is deal with it and kill your brother later," she said and Xena grinned at her mother. "That's not funny," Xena said and Cyrene nodded, "I know dear, just don't beat him up too badly," her mother said and Xena chuckled then let out a breath and looked at Cyrene who was grinning. "Thanks," Xena said and Cyrene grinned, "what are mothers for?" She asked as she walked passed Xena and Xena followed out behind her.

Everyone was seated at the table by the time Cyrene and Xena walked out, Cyrene sat down while Xena placed the pitchers on the table then sat down next to Ulysses. Dinner began and there was conversation while they ate, "so Ulysses where are you from?" Maphias asked and Ulysses looked at him, "around," Ulysses said and Maphias looked at him. "You don't know where you're from or is it a secret?" He asked and Ulysses hunched his shoulders as he put some food into his mouth, "I know where I'm from, I'd just rather not say," Ulysses said and Maphias nodded. "Understandable, especially if you have a horrible past or you're running from the law," Maphias said and Ulysses chuckled at him as he took a gulp of his drink. "That's quite an imagination you have," Ulysses said. "So Ulysses what kind of work do you do?" Maphias asked, "oh he's great with his hands, does wondrous work around the Inn fixing things." Cyrene said and Maphias nodded, "is that so?" Maphias asked and Ulysses nodded.

"So you're a builder?" Maphias asked and Ulysses shook his head, "nope," he said. "He also helps us out in the fields," Lyceus said and Maphias looked at Ulysses, "so you're a farmer?" He asked and Ulysses shook his head, "so you're from a mystery place and you do nothing," Maphias said. "If you want to look at it that way," Ulysses said. "Well what why should I look at it, it seems to me you don't plan on doing much with you're life so how can you take care of Xena?" Maphias asked and Ulysses grinned, "there it is," he said and they all looked at him. "What you really want to know is, what do I have that you don't, that makes Xena want me?" Ulysses said and Maphias looked at him, "basically yes." He said and Xena looked at him, "Maphias let's not go into this alright," Xena said and he looked at her. "Why not? You're afraid that you'll find out something about Ulysses you don't like?" He asked and Xena looked at him, "no but I'll tell what he has that makes me want him that you don't," Xena said and he looked at her waiting.

"He loves me for me, for who I am and who I want to be. He doesn't want me to change, he's not trying to mold me into what he believes to be a perfect woman. HE LOVES ME FOR ME," Xena said stressing those last words as she looked into Maphias' eyes. "And that was something you, or any other man in this village, could never do," she said and he looked at her. "So before you come here judging people you don't know, take a look at yourself first," Xena said then stood preparing to walk away. "Oh and if you thought that you were going to come here and we could pick up where we left off you, were sadly mistaken, I am deeply in love with Ulysses and nothing or no one is ever going to change that," she said then walked into the kitchen leaving Maphias sitting there in a stunned silence. "Well…the food was great Cyrene but I think I've lost my appetite," Maphias said as he stood. "I'll see you guys later," he said then left the table and headed for the door leaving the Inn. "I'm gonna go see about Xena," Ulysses said as he stood and headed into the kitchen.

"Toris you're an idiot," Lyceus said, "I agree," Cyrene said and Toris looked at his brother and mother. "What did I do?" He asked, "why did you invite Maphias to stay for dinner when you know his history with Xena and the fact that she's moved on and found happiness?" Cyrene asked her son and he looked at her, "has she really found happiness? I mean Ulysses is a good man, don't get me wrong but Maphias has a point. What can he possible offer Xena, as far as a good life, when he really isn't doing anything with his life? Does he plan on working the rest of his life in the Inn, basically living off of us?" Toris asked, "you know the people in this town judge too quickly," Virgil said and Cyrene and Corrinna both nodded. "You don't know what Ulysses has to offer Xena because you don't know him, but I know him and I can tell you he has a whole lot to offer your sister, more than any ordinary man could ever give her." Virgil said and with that Toris left it alone as he sat there and thought about that.

Meanwhile, when Ulysses walked into the kitchen, he saw Xena standing by the window looking out of it. He walked over to her placing his hand on her shoulder, "you alright?" He asked and she let out a breath and nodded, "yea, I'm sorry I blew up like that. I'm just tired of people judging me, you and situations they know absolutely nothing about," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he wrapped one arm around her waist then leaned in and placed a kiss on her temple. "I know," he said and Xena let out a breath as she ran her hand over Ulysses' arm, "thank you by the way," Xena said. "For what?" Ulysses asked and she turned and looked into his eyes, "for loving me for me," she said and he smiled as he brought his fingers up and caressed her cheek. "You're welcome and thank you, for being who you are, I like that you're not ordinary, it's what attracts me to you the most." Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him, "come on let's finish eating dinner." He said as he took her hand and she looked into his eyes as she let him pull her, "yea, I guess I do need my strength," she said with a smile and he chuckled at her.

They walked out of the kitchen and sat back down at the table and they were both were happy to see that Maphias was gone. With him gone dinner was more pleasant and they all had a good time talking and laughing. By the time they were finished, the evening crowd began to come in, so they all went about their normal routine. When it got late and people were starting to leave, Ulysses went to take a shower while Xena began to clean up. When the Inn closed, Xena took a quick shower then headed up to Ulysses' room, where she found Ulysses sitting up in the bed looking at the golden box Aphrodite had given them. "You've been wondering what's in there like I have," Xena said as she locked the door, then walked over to the bed and sat down. "Yea," he said, "well let's open it and see," Xena said and he looked at her then back at the box. "Okay," he said then sat the box on the bed between them. He placed his hand on the lid and she placed her hand on the lid and together they lifted it up, opening the box. They looked inside the box and there lying on a red silk pillow, was two necklaces, and they could see that the pieces of the necklace that hung on the end, were two halves of a whole.

One half of the stone was blue, like the color of Xena's eyes but a little darker and if you looked deep into it you could see a burning flame. The other stone was a deep red, like the color of wine and it too held a flame in the inside. "Two halves of a whole," Ulysses said as he picked them up and placed them close together seeing that they fit perfectly. "I think they represent us, the love we've found and the bond we share." Xena said as she took the red one from him and Ulysses held the other in his hands then looked at Xena, "you wear one and I wear the other," he said then reached over and placed the necklace around Xena's neck and she smiled as she pulled her hair up so that the necklace could fall. Surprisingly the stone was warm and it fell perfectly between her breasts, "it means a lot to me Xena, that I've found the person I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with. I love you so much and I swear to you and all the gods above, that my heart and soul belong to you and only you and I will love you for as long as I live and even after."

Ulysses said and the gem glowed a little but they were too busy looking into each other's eyes to notice it, Xena did notice however, that she had this strong feeling of love and she recognized it, as being the love Ulysses had for her. Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as she placed the necklace in her hands around his neck, letting it fall to his chest. "I love you so much Ulysses, I don't think you'll ever really know how much. I don't think I'll ever know how much," she said with a smile and Ulysses smiled as well. "I do know that ever since you've entered my world everything has been great, where I once thought my life was miserable, I think it's fantastic and it's all because of you, you and the love you have for me and the love I have for you. My heart and soul are yours and only yours and I swear to you and all the gods above, I will love you until my dying day and even after." Xena said then picked up Ulysses' hand intertwining their fingers, "not even death could keep us apart," Xena said and Ulysses smiled as he leaned in preparing to kiss her.

"Not even death my love," he whispered to her and then they both sealed their promises with a soft, passionate tasting of lips. Ulysses' jewel glowed as well and when the kiss ended, Xena turned down the lantern on the night stand until it was completely dark in the room. She lay down in the bed on her side, facing Ulysses and he scooted closer to her, "make love to me," she said as she caressed his cheek and he looked deep into her eyes. "All night," he whispered to her just before he kissed her softly but passionately. That night as they made love, they had no idea they were sealing what they said in more ways than one. The love they had for each other was at its most when they made love and it was at this time, that small pieces of their souls and love went into their necklaces, it was made so that whenever they were apart they would still be together in this small way, they would still feel each other and the love they had.

Ulysses and Xena were sharing a very passionate, very heated tasting of lips as he thrust into her, "Unnngh…unnngh," Xena moaned as she ran her hands all over Ulysses' back, arms and shoulders. "Ummm…un," Ulysses moaned as he continued to taste Xena's lips and while they kissed, he caressed her leg bringing it up so that her thigh rested against his back and her foot on his butt. "More," Xena moaned when the kiss ended and Ulysses kissed her on her chin and he didn't question his love as he rose up more on his hands, gripping the sheets as he thrust deeper and a little faster into Xena.

"Unnnngh…aaaahhhhhh," Xena cried out as she closed her eyes tightly and her finger nails dug into Ulysses' back. He moaned into her neck and after a couple of minutes, which felt like a lifetime of pleasure, she pulled him from her neck and kissed him deeply. As they kissed, they began to roll around on the bed getting more tangled in the sheet than they already were. When she was on top she rode Ulysses like no woman had ever rode him before, he let her have her fun which was his extreme pleasure, after a while he sat up and ran his hands over Xena's back as he kissed her passionately. As they kissed, his fingers caressed her body and she didn't know how he did it but he was soft and gentle in some places, making her feel so loved and in others he knew where to make his caress firmer in touch, setting her body ablaze.

When the kiss ended, Xena threw her head back and moaned as he kissed and sucked on her neck, while continuing to caress her while she continued to rock against him. Ulysses ran his hands from Xena's back all the way down her legs to her feet and even there he pressed down firmly on certain spots making her moan. "Don't stop," she moaned and Ulysses moaned as he kissed Xena all over, his lips, tongue and teeth having a ball as he tasted her delicious skin. After a while Ulysses surprised Xena by picking her up and laying her on her back, she smiled at him as she caressed his cheek then moaned as he kissed her passionately, so much so that she moaned as her head was pushed back into the pillow. An hour passed and Xena was on her back with Ulysses between her legs, she was moaning, whimpering and every now and then crying out as he thrust passionately into her. She ran her fingers over his sweaty back digging her fingers into his flesh, causing him to moan, her legs ran up and down his legs and when she wasn't caressing his back her hands ran over his muscled arms.

She rose up once and kissed Ulysses' tattoo on his arm running her nails over it before she leaned back in and kissed and sucked on it. When she was done, she kissed Ulysses passionately, "dangerously in love," he whispered to her and she grinned then moaned as they kissed again and she pulled him down on top of her. About twenty minutes passed and Xena opened her legs wider allowing Ulysses to go deeper which he did, Xena remembered crying out in extreme pleasure as her back arched off the bed. Ulysses moaned loudly as well and when Xena threw her arms up to the sides of her head he ran his hands over her arms until his fingers were intertwining with hers. He held her down and as they kissed, he moved deeper, harder and a little faster. They swallowed each other's moans and soon Xena was whimpering in pleasure, when the kiss ended they were left breathless. Ulysses buried his head in Xena's neck smothering his loud moans of pleasure, "Unnng…Ulysses," Xena moaned and Ulysses moaned as he sped up a little more.

"Xena…oh Xena," Ulysses moaned and Xena moaned, loving to hear her name on his lips, especially in a moan. "It feels so good, gods," Ulysses hissed as he turned his head from side to side then groaned as he felt his release. He leaned down and kissed Xena passionately, releasing her hands so that he could caress every last part of her. She was getting closer and closer Ulysses could feel it and ten minutes later they both came at the same time. After all the shocks were gone, Ulysses lay on Xena trying to catch his breath, when he had caught his breath some, he pulled out of her and fell back onto the bed. "Gods that was absolutely amazing," Ulysses said and Xena smiled and nodded as she rolled into his arms. "Yes it was," she said and they laid there in silence for a while before they began to talk about any and everything. "You know I really like this tattoo on you, I like what it says and I think it makes you look even sexier." Xena said as she ran her fingers over it and Ulysses grinned at her, "yea I like it too," he said as he thought about it before he looked at Xena and grinned as he leaned in and kissed her softly.

When the kiss ended, they grinned at each other and leaned in a couple of more times for a few soft, brief kisses before they went back to talking. They talked for a while longer then fell asleep in each other's arms with grins on their faces and they even had grins when they woke up. When morning came, Xena got up and went to take a shower, as she stood in the stall with the hot water beating down on her, the door opened startling her and she looked at the intruder. "Mind if I join you?" Ulysses asked and she grinned at him as he walked into the stall closing the door behind him, "not at all," she said and Ulysses smiled as he ran his hands over Xena's wet, slippery soft skin.

They bathe each other and then their activities went a little further to the point Ulysses was on his knees, between Xena's legs, tasting all she had to offer and moaning in the process. Ulysses had placed one of Xena's legs on his shoulder and he was caressing it while Xena had one hand on the wall to steady herself and the other in Ulysses' hair holding him in that wonderful place as she threw her head back and moaned. When he was done, he kissed his way up then backed her into a corner as they tasted each other's lips, when they were in the corner they continued to kiss even as Ulysses grabbed Xena's thighs and picked her up so that her legs were wide open and he was between them, with her feet resting on the backs of his legs.

The kiss ended and Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as he eased his huge cock into her, she slammed her head back on the wall as she moaned and when he was all the way in he pulled out and pushed back in developing a rhythm. There was very hot action going on in there and twenty minutes later there was a loud thud as Xena slammed her hand against the wall in response to her release. In the stall Ulysses was looking into her eyes as her hand slid away and she wrapped it around his shoulder, they were both breathing hard as they tried to catch their breaths after such hot and heavy action.

They smiled at each other then chuckled before they took another bath then got out, dried off and headed to their rooms to get dressed. Another week and a half passed by and things were still as great as ever, despite the fact that Maphias said he was moving back to Amphipolis which meant Xena would be bothered with him more and more. Yes everything was going well. Xena thought life couldn't get any better than this. Then came the day however, when their love would be tested. It was an hour before lunch when Gregory and the other soldiers made their way into Amphipolis and made their way to the Inn.

"Cyrene there are soldiers headed towards the Inn," Dana said as she walked into the kitchen and Cyrene looked at her, "how many?" She asked as she continued to pushed the peas out of their shell, "it looks to be about twenty maybe thirty," she said and Cyrene stopped what she was doing then stood and wiped her hands on her apron. She walked into the dinning area where Lyceus, Toris and Virgil were since they had come in early for lunch. She didn't have time to say anything when the soldiers walked into the Inn. Gregory walked in and looked around the Inn, "shit," Virgil said as he recognized the soldiers, especially Gregory. "Do you know them?" Lyceus asked and Virgil looked at him then back towards Gregory as he spoke, "whose in charge around here?" Gregory asked and Cyrene stepped forward and Lyceus and Toris stood and walked over to their mother standing at her side. "This is my inn, what can I do for you?" Cyrene asked and Gregory looked at her, "we're looking for two men."

Gregory said, "their names are Ulysses and Virgil," he said and Cyrene looked at him. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you looking for them for?" She asked, "they are ordered home by the order of King Julian of Ithaca," Gregory said and Cyrene looked at them all. "Hello Gregory," Virgil said as he walked over to them and Lucius looked at him, "Lord Virgil," Gregory said, "Lord?" Toris asked but Virgil didn't really pay any attention to him, "where is Ulysses?" Gregory asked, "he's in the next town, won't be back for a week, he's doing some things for Cyrene here."

Virgil said and Gregory looked at him, "then we'll just go to the town and get him," Gregory said Virgil looked at him. "What's the name of the town?" Gregory asked and Virgil looked into his eyes, "You know, I can't seem to remember," Virgil said. "Well maybe they can remember," Gregory said as he looked at Cyrene, Toris and Lyceus. "Actually can't," Lyceus said with a small apologetic grin, "yea, sorry about that," Toris said and Lucius nodded then, "is that really how it's going to be?

Am I supposed to believe that you don't know where Ulysses is? That you've forgotten?" Gregory asked and Virgil nodded, "I don't think I stuttered." Virgil said and Gregory let out a breath, "we have been searching for you guys for over four months. My patience is gone," Gregory said then signaled the men and they began to surround the Inn. "I don't want to but if I have to I will tear this Inn and this village apart until I find Ulysses." Gregory said and Virgil looked at him, "I don't think King Julian would approve," Virgil said, "King Julian has told all of who he sent to look for you Ulysses, that we are to use any means necessary to find his son," Gregory said.

Xena was in the barn brushing Argo when Ulysses came in and he brushed one side while Xena brushed the other and they talked smiling at each other and at Gemini and Argo, Argo who pushed Gemini away with her nose every time Gemini got close. After a while Ulysses sat on a bale of hay then leaned back on his elbows, watching Xena finish tending to Argo, talking to her, patting her, making sure her water was fresh and she had food, not to mention giving her treats here and there. As he watched her, he thought about how beautiful she was, how in love he was with her and how very lucky he was to have found her. His hand went up to the half circle around his heart and he grinned as he watched her smile and when he closed his eyes he could feel her love deep down into his soul. "What are you thinking about that has you grinning like that?" Xena asked snapping Ulysses out of his thoughts and he looked at her as she walked over to him, "you," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she sat down on the bale.

"What about me?" She asked and he picked up her hand, "how in love I am with you," he said then kissed the back of her hand and she smiled at him. "The feeling is mutual," she said then leaned in and kissed him softly. "Mmmmm…can I have another one?" Ulysses asked when the kiss ended and Xena grinned as she placed her hand on Ulysses' cheek then leaned in and softly tasted his lips. "Xena," one of the villagers burst in through the door and they looked up, "what's the matter?" Xena asked. "There's a group a soldiers, about thirty in the Inn," he said and Xena and Ulysses both stood. "What do they want?" Ulysses asked and the villager hunched his shoulders, "I don't know, I didn't stick around long enough to find out," he said and they nodded as they headed for the door. "I think they're from an island," the villager said and Ulysses stopped cold once they were outside. "What makes you say that?" Ulysses asked and the villager looked at him, "I've seen those colors before on the uniforms their wearing, now if I could only remember."

He said as he stood there and thought, "their uniforms are black but their shirts are blue and their pants have gold stitching," Ulysses said. "That's it, how did you know?" He asked and Ulysses closed his eyes _'they've found me'_ he thought to himself. Xena looked at Ulysses as she walked up to him placing her hands on his face and he opened his eyes and looked into hers, "well I guess being this happy couldn't last forever," he said with a hint of a grin that never really made it to his face. "Those soldiers are from Ithaca and they're looking for you," Xena stated and Ulysses nodded then let out a breath as he took Xena's hand in his, "its time to face my past," he said and then they walked towards the Inn. They stood outside the door and could hear Virgil trying to lead Gregory and the other's astray. Ulysses turned and looked at Xena, he walked up close to her placing his hands on the sides of her face as he looked into her eyes. "I am truly sorry my love, for never telling you who I am, I hope you'll forgive me when you find out.

But I want you to know Xena, whatever happens, I love you," Ulysses said and Xena looked into your eyes as well. "I love you too," she said and Ulysses leaned down and kissed her deeply and passionately like it was their last kiss. Xena moaned as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair tasting his lips as well. When the kiss ended they leaned their forehead against each other, "time to stop running," he said and Xena grinned as she caressed his cheek then held his hands in hers. "You won't have to do it alone," she said and Ulysses nodded then let out a breath, they listened to what was being said and Ulysses and Xena walked in at Gregory's last words. "…use any means necessary to find his son," Gregory said. "And so you have found him," Ulysses said as he walked into the Inn and Xena was surprised and it showed a little, and everyone else was surprised as well. "Ulysses," Gregory said as he turned and looked at him and Ulysses walked forward as he looked at Gregory, "I know I didn't hear right Gregory. Were you planning on destroying this inn, this town?"

Ulysses asked and Gregory looked at him, "any means necessary to find you, your father said so himself." Gregory said and Ulysses nodded, "my father has never stood for hurting innocent people and I don't think he would appreciate you doing so in his name." Ulysses said and Gregory looked at him, "you're right but now that we have found you we can return to Ithaca. Your father told me to tell you hello," he said as he walked up to Ulysses looking him into his eyes. "And to give you this," Gregory said then punched Ulysses hard in his face. And of course before Gregory could blink he was punched hard and he pulled his sword on Virgil who looked at him, walking up to him so that the blade was at his chest. "How dare you hit him?" Virgil asked and Gregory looked at him, "I was doing as I was told, something you and Ulysses know nothing about. Running away from home, your family, and your responsibilities and for what, so you can run around the country side?"

Gregory said and he and Virgil started arguing back and forth, "Enough," Ulysses yelled and they both fell silent and looked at each other. Ulysses let out a breath and looked at Gregory as he pulled his sword and Gregory looked at Ulysses, "Virgil is your superior, remove your sword from his chest and I'm only going to tell you once," Ulysses said and Gregory looked at his prince seeing no hint of play but the fact that his eyes had gone cold. Gregory removed his sword and Ulysses nodded, "don't ever presume Gregory, that you know what goes on in our lives to judge us, it has been a while since you've been the friend and mentor you used to be, so what you think you know, you haven't got a clue." Ulysses said then sheathe his sword and Gregory did the same. "And never forget your place," Ulysses said as he stepped into Gregory's face and Gregory actually felt that he was in the wrong and he acknowledged the fact that Ulysses was his own man and his lord, so he looked into Ulysses' eyes with respect shinning brightly in them before he bowed his head slightly in respect. "Of course my Lord," he said and Ulysses looked at him and nodded then stepped back.

"How did you find us anyway?" Ulysses asked and Gregory looked at him, "we had a few leads but what really led us to you was a letter from Lord Virgil," Gregory said and Ulysses looked at him then at Virgil who looked back. "Tell me you didn't," Ulysses said and Virgil looked into his friend's eyes, seeing that he wanted to believe that Virgil would never do that but Virgil couldn't give Ulysses the answer he wanted. "I'm sorry Ulysses," Virgil said and Ulysses closed his eyes as he turned his head away, "look I heard news that Ithaca was having some problems with a neighboring kingdom and that there was the possibility of war." Virgil said and Ulysses just shook his head, "its true my lord, Ithaca is on the verge of war, that's why we need to return as soon as possible," Gregory said and Ulysses let out a breath then looked around the room for Xena but didn't see her, his heart sank as he let out a breath.

"We'll leave in two days," Ulysses said, "but my lord…" Gregory started to say then let out a breath as he walked up closer to Ulysses, "Ulysses, it is urgent that we return home as soon as possible," he said in a sincere tone and Ulysses nodded as he looked at Gregory. "I understand but you must also understand that I have a few things to see to here before we leave," Ulysses said and Gregory looked into his eyes. "Two days," Ulysses said and Gregory looked into his eyes and nodded. "Until then relax, I'll get you guys some rooms and don't threaten anyone," Ulysses said then headed for the kitchen. "Ulysses," Virgil called but Ulysses ignored him.

"Don't talk to me," Ulysses said as he walked into the kitchen and Virgil followed. Ulysses stopped and looked at Xena who was busying herself and Cyrene looked up as Ulysses walked into the kitchen. "Xena," Ulysses called and she shook her head, "Xena please look at me," Ulysses said and she raised her head and looked at him. He looked into her eyes seeing hurt and confusion but still he saw a large amount of love for him in her eyes. He walked over some to where she was and looked into her eyes then held his arms out straight, "this is who I am. I am the son of a King, I am a prince and will one day myself be King." Ulysses said then lowered his arms as he walked up closer to Xena.

"But that doesn't make or change how I fell about you any less," Ulysses said and Xena shook her head as she looked at him. "How can I believe you?" She asked then shook her head as tears filled her eyes and she quickly ran out of the door. "Xena," Ulysses called after Xena, "let her be," Cyrene said and Ulysses looked at her and she looked back at him but differently. She no longer looked at him like he was her son or friend all she saw now was that he was a prince and like the people of Amphipolis did she judged him. Ulysses let out a breath, "Ulysses," Virgil called and the next thing he knew he was slammed up against the wall. "Why? Why did you do this? I was happy here, I was happy with her and now it's all ruined." Ulysses said, "of all people I trusted you," he said then let Virgil go and Virgil let out a breath as he looked at Ulysses.

"I just wanted to let them know that we were okay and where they could find us if anything happened," Virgil said. "And what you didn't think they would come looking for me?" Ulysses asked, "I didn't really think about that," Virgil said and Ulysses threw his hands up in the air. "Look Ulysses, all I could think about when I heard Ithaca might be going to war, was if something happened they would need to know where you were. You are next in line and frankly I didn't want my mother and father worried to death about me and you shouldn't want your parents doing the same either."

Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him, "I'm tired of worrying about how everyone else is feeling, that's all I did when I was at home, ITS WHY I LEFT," Ulysses yelled at Virgil. "If you didn't want your family to worry that's fine, then you could have went home, but to tell them where I am, knowing they would come looking for me…" Ulysses said then shook his head, "I found what I was looking for Virgil and now…" Ulysses said then shook his head, "now I've lost it," he said then looked at his friend before he looked at Cyrene. "Cyrene they're gonna need some rooms," Ulysses said, "I'll take care of it," Cyrene said.

"I was going to…" Ulysses started to say, "I'll take care of it," Cyrene said and Ulysses looked at her and let out another breath as he headed up the stairs to his room. He walked into the room slamming the door closed and then he turned around and in frustration kicked the door a couple of times. When he was done he slid down the door to the floor and just closed his eyes tightly as he ran his fingers through his hair. Xena ran down to the lake where she stood there looking out at the water then sat down and let out a breath.

The water was calm as she looked out at it _'that's how I used to be and now…'_ Xena thought to herself then picked up a rock and threw it into the water watching ripple after ripple. _'I don't know what to do or what to believe'_ Xena thought to herself then felt a presence behind her. "Believe in your heart," Athena said and Xena let out a breath. "What do you want?" Xena asked and Athena looked at her as she walked up close to her, "so you're mad at me?" Athena asked, "you did this, you made it so we met each other and then we fell in love…so deep in love," Xena said as she wiped away the tear that ran down her cheek.

"And you knew, you knew all along who he was," Xena said and Athena let out a breath as she looked at her chosen. She shook her head then sat down next to Xena. She looked at Xena as she placed a lock of hair behind her ear then turned her face towards her but Xena fought her and didn't stop until Athena's hold on her face was iron clad. "I arranged nothing Xena, I just knew and was able to tell you. It was destiny that you and he would meet and that you would fall in love, you know that deep down in your heart." Athena said and Xena looked at her, "how can I love him now, I'm a peasant and he a prince?"

Xena asked and Athena shook her head at Xena, "you have to have faith in your love Xena, your love for him and his for you." Athena said and Xena looked at her then let out a breath as she looked back out at the water, "tell me what to do," Xena asked because she was at a point in her life where she felt really lost. Athena grinned at her as she caressed Xena's cheek, "I can't tell you that Xena, no one can. This is a decision you and only you can make, but just sit here and think about the man you've come to know and love over these past five months.

Listen to your heart Xena," Athena said then stood, "call me if you need me," Athena said and then she was gone. Xena let out a breath then ran her hands over her face before she ran her fingers through her hair. Like Athena suggested, Xena sat there and thought about Ulysses, she thought about how they had gotten to know each other. How they fell in love and her first time, when they first made love, it was right then and there that she knew that they were meant to be together. Though she felt that, she still sat there and thought and thought until she couldn't think any more. It was hours later that she began walking back towards the Inn, when she got there Gemini met her at the door and she grinned as she picked up the cub then sat down in a chair and pet the wolf as she still thought about things. "Where's Ulysses?" Xena asked as Lyceus walked through the kitchen door from the dinning area and he looked at his sister. "Getting ready to drown his sorrows," Lyceus said then walked over and sat down next to his sister.

"I think the best thing for he and Virgil to do, is leave," Cyrene said and Lyceus shook his head, "personally Xena I think you ought to kick his ass first then kick him out." Toris said as he came down the stairs and Xena let out a breath as she leaned her head back. "You know we're doing exactly what he was afraid we were going to do, we're judging him for what he is and not who he is," Xena said and Lyceus nodded. "That's what I was getting ready to say, mother Ulysses is still that same man who basically helped rebuild this Inn. He fixed basically everything in here and didn't ask any money for it." Lyceus said and Cyrene thought about that and he turned his attention to Toris, "he and Virgil have helped us with the fields, and if it weren't for them we would never finished the fields and gotten the extra money we did for spring harvest." Lyceus said then turned and looked at his sister, "and he's still the same man you feel in love with." He said and Xena nodded then looked down at Gemini before she placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Go talk to him," Lyceus said as he took Gemini from Xena and Xena looked at him then let out a breath as she stood. She walked out of the kitchen and spotted Ulysses sitting at a table at the end and the guards sat at the table and another. She watched as he took a gulp of port then leaned his head forward, down onto his arms as he let out a breath, she walked over to the table and the guards looked at her. She didn't pay them any attention as she pulled a chair up to the table next to Ulysses and when she sat down, she ran her fingers through his hair. He raised his head up and looked at Xena and she looked at him, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said and she brought her hand up to his eye removing the tear from the corner of his eye before it fell and anyone but her could see it. "Tell me what's in your heart," Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes, "I love you with all that I am and nothing will ever change that. I am a prince yes, but I still want to be with you and I want you to be with me." Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes as he spoke and she could tell he was speaking from his heart and that he meant what he was saying.

She took his hand and pulled him with her as she stood up, they stood close together and Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as she caressed his cheek. "Come what may," she said and that said volumes to them both and Ulysses' closed his eyes at that, "I love you and I will always love you," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her then leaned in and kissed her softly but passionately. When the kiss ended they hugged each other both letting out breaths of relief _'you followed your heart Xena and this feels right'_ she thought to herself. When the hug ended they looked at each other and Ulysses grinned as he leaned his forehead against Xena's while looking into her eyes. "That's two fights our relationship has survived," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she caressed his cheek while looking into his eyes. "Let's try not to have any more fights," Xena said with a grin and Ulysses nodded, "I agree, I don't think my heart can take any more," he said and she chuckled as she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. Ulysses moaned into the kiss and when it ended they smiled at each other, "here let me introduce you to the General of Ithaca's army," Ulysses said as he sat down pulling Xena down onto his lap.

"Xena this is Gregory, Gregory this is Xena, my heart, my love," he said and Xena grinned as Ulysses placed a kiss on her cheek and she looked at Gregory, "it's nice to meet you," she said and Gregory nodded. "You as well and I'm sorry about earlier," he said and she nodded. "Though you might want to apologize to my mother for I'm sure almost scaring her to death," Xena said and Gregory looked at her, "I'm sorry, you're mother would be?" He asked, "the innkeeper," Xena said and Gregory nodded. After a couple of minutes Lyceus walked out of the kitchen with a cup in his hands and he walked over to Xena and Ulysses with Gemini hot on his heels. "I don't know why you guys left this wolf with us," Lyceus said as he picked up Ulysses' mug then sat the mug with cider in it down on the table in front of Ulysses who grinned at him. "Thanks," he said and Lyceus nodded, "Xena when you have a minute, mother needs your help in the kitchen," Lyceus said and Xena nodded. "I'll be there in a couple of minutes," she said as she pet Gemini who was now sitting in her lap.

Ulysses shook his head at Xena and the wolf, "you're gonna spoil her," Ulysses said and she grinned at him. "Here keep each other company until I get back," she said as she placed Gemini on Ulysses' lap and he let out a breath as he looked at the wolf then at Xena. "Why do you torture me so?" He asked as he began to pet Gemini and Xena grinned, "oh yeah, it's a real torture," she said then leaned in and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended she stood and headed into the kitchen and Ulysses watched her walk away then let out a breath as he looked down at Gemini who was lying down on his lap. "Don't get use to this," he said and she only blinked up at him with her yellow eyes. "That's a cute puppy," one of the soldiers said as he reached his hand out to pat Gemini who growled at him which caused him to quickly pull his hand back and Ulysses smiled. "Wolf, she's a wolf," Ulysses said as he caressed Gemini's coat. The day passed by quickly, too quickly for Xena and Ulysses and when it got late, instead of Xena helping her mother close like she usually did, Cyrene told her to spend that time with Ulysses.

So she went up to Ulysses' room and looked at him as he sat on the bed just thinking, "hey," she said and he looked at her as she closed and locked the door. "Hey," he said as he continued to sit there and Xena walked over to him standing between his legs as she ran her fingers through his hair. He looked up into the eyes of the woman he loved with all his might, "Xena I'm leaving the day after tomorrow," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him as her heart racing. "Can't you stay a while longer?" She asked him and he looked into her eyes as he shook his head, "I wish I could but I can't. I should be leaving tomorrow but I wanted to spend one more day with you." He said and Xena looked down as her mind raced with her heart, "how are you gonna get home, you need a boat and…" Xena started saying but Ulysses shushed her by placing his finger against her lips. He took her hands and had her sit on his lap with her legs placed on the bed. "Xena, Gregory was in charge of one of the many groups that were sent out to find myself and Virgil.

A ship has been sailing from port to port looking for us, Gregory has sent word to that ship and to Ithaca that he has found me. That ship will probably be here sometime tomorrow," Ulysses said as he looked into her eyes and Xena looked down as she was filled with pain at the thought of him leaving so soon. "I wanted to ask you would you come with me, but I don't know what'll happen when I get home and then there's the prospect of war and I wouldn't want to put you in danger." Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes, "I'd go through anything with you, just to be with you," she said as she looked into his eyes while softly caressing his cheek and he looked at her as he brought his hand up and placed a lock of hair behind her ear, before he placed his hand on her cheek. "I know and so would I but my mind would be at ease knowing you were here and safe." Ulysses said and Xena let out a breath as she looked up at the ceiling, "why have I found this love, why has it been given to me only to be taken away like this?" Xena asked and Ulysses brought her head forward as he looked into her eyes, "you're not losing my love, you will never lose it.

I will and I am coming back for you, we will be together forever," he said and Xena looked into his eyes then leaned forward and kissed him softly but passionately. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes, "let me make love to you," he whispered to her and Xena looked into his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair then leaned forward and kissed him softly yet passionately. As they kissed Ulysses picked Xena up and placed her on the bed and he lay down next to her, their kiss never breaking. They slowly made love to each other, exploring each other's bodies and an hour later when they were finished, Ulysses lay on his back with Xena in his arms. She ran her fingers over his chest and he ran his fingers up and down her back, they had been lying there in silence like that for twenty minutes before Xena spoke. "I'm sorry for earlier," she said and Ulysses looked down at her, "what do you mean?" He asked and Xena let out a breath as she raised her head and looked at him, "I did the one thing that you feared I would do if you told me who you really were. I judged you, we all did and with all of my heart I'm sorry for that."

Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes as he caressed her cheek, "you're amazing and I love you so much," Ulysses said and Xena rose up more so that she met him half way for a kiss. When the kiss ended, she ran her finger over his cheek as she looked into his eyes, "will you write to me?" She asked and he grinned as he ran his fingers through her hair, "every chance I get," he said. "And you'll write to me," he said and Xena grinned, "tell me how you, Gemini and Argo are doing," Ulysses said with a smile and Xena smiled as well; Gemini raised her head as she heard her name. "Yea," she said as she chuckled and Ulysses looked at her. "Oh I'm going to miss you so much," he said as he caressed her cheek and she looked into his eyes then leaned down and kissed him softly. She meant for the kiss to be soft to say 'I'm going to miss you too' but it quickly became more as Xena deepened the kiss by plunging her tongue into Ulysses' mouth and gently exploring it which caused Ulysses moaned. "Mmmmm," he moaned as he rose up as he ran his fingers through her hair then he gently eased her onto her back and situated himself between her legs and Xena ran her hand over his arm and moaned as they began to make love once again.

When morning came Ulysses woke and looked down at Xena who was still asleep. He laid there and watched her sleep and as he did, he brought his hand up and softly caressed her cheek. She pushed into his caress but stayed asleep, Ulysses tightened his arms around Xena and just lay there thinking about everything he had been through but his love for Xena outshined everything. He placed a kiss on her forehead and she moaned as she ran her hand up his chest to the side of his head into his hair where her fingers gently ran through his hair. It amazed him how she did that since she was still asleep and he looked down at her as she continued to sleep and even though he knew it was getting late he didn't have the heart to wake her. After a while he placed another kiss on her forehead, "Xena," he called and she moaned as she pushed into him. "Xena," he called again and she moaned then opened her eyes. "It's time to get up," Ulysses said and Xena stretched then looked up at Ulysses, "good morning," he said and she looked into his as she caressed his cheek. "It will be as soon as you kiss me," she said and he grinned as he leaned down and kissed her softly and sweetly.

When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes, "take a shower with me," Xena said as she sat up hold the sheet to her chest and Ulysses looked at her. "Really?" He asked and she grinned at him and nodded, "that is, if you think you can handle it," she said as she put on her clothes and Ulysses got out of the bed and grabbed his pants putting them on. "Let's go," Ulysses said as he opened the door and Xena grinned as she picked up her shoes then walked out of the door followed by Gemini then Ulysses who closed the door behind him. They went down to the bathing room locking the door behind them for privacy and Xena walked over to the shower cutting the water on to a perfect temperature and then she undressed and got in. Ulysses took off his pants and got in behind Xena looking at her as she stepped into the water letting it run over her face, hair and body. He looked at her then walked up to her placing his hands on her shoulders as he leaned in and placed a kiss on the back of her neck.

Xena grinned as she let him do that for a couple of minutes before she turned around and pulled him into the water with her. He tilted his head back letting the water run over his hair, face and body and Xena grabbed some soap and ran it over Ulysses' chest. He looked down at her and she grinned as she leaned in for a kiss, she would remember this time with Ulysses in the shower. She would remember how their wet bodies felt pressed against each other, she would remember how her lips caught droplets of water off of his lips and his lips did the same to hers. They softly washed each other sharing soft caresses and kisses and although they wanted to make love, they didn't and when they were finished their shower, they got out and dried each other off. Xena went to her room with Gemini following her and she got dressed while Ulysses went to his room and did the same. Xena went up to the kitchen letting Gemini out and then she looked at her mother, "morning mom," she said as she walked over to Cyrene placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Good morning dear," Cyrene said then looked at Xena who went to work as usual but when she had things on her mind she threw herself into her work. "What's on your mind?" Cyrene asked and Xena let out a breath as she cracked eggs into a bowl, "Ulysses is leaving tomorrow," she said and Cyrene looked at her. "He's coming back for me but we don't know when and I'm going to miss him a whole lot," Xena said and Cyrene nodded. "That's understandable, why don't you help me with breakfast then spend the rest of the day with him." Cyrene suggested and Xena looked at her, "are you sure?" She asked and Cyrene nodded, "yea I am, you need to spend these last hours with the man you love doing whatever you want." Cyrene said and Xena grinned and nodded, "thanks mom, you're the best," Xena said as she walked over a placed a kiss on Cyrene's cheek and giving her a small hug and Cyrene smiled as she hugged her daughter back.

"You're the only daughter I have Xena and I want to see you happy," Cyrene said as she moved a strand of hair from Xena's face. "And at this rate, you'll be the only one giving me grandchildren," Cyrene said and Xena chuckled at her mother. "Maybe you ought to talk to your brothers," Cyrene said and Xena shook her head as she went back to do what she was doing, "I'm not getting into that, besides, they don't like it when I get in their love lives and their not really going to listen to me any way," Xena said as she prepared the eggs. "You're brothers are stubborn, I don't know where they get it from though," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her mother. "You," she said and Cyrene shook her head, "for shame Xena, I am not stubborn," she said. "Yea right," Xena said as she chuckled and they continued to talk, with Corrinna coming in and joining in on the conversation while they helped Cyrene prepare breakfast and when it was done they all sat down and ate breakfast at the table.

When they were done, Xena cleared the tables of all the dishes and when she was finished she walked back out to Ulysses, who was leaning against the bar. He looked at Xena who took his hand, "come with me," she said and he took her hand and began following her. "My Lord," Gregory called and Ulysses looked at him. "I'll be back," he said then looked at Xena who grinned at him, "maybe," he said as he followed Xena through the kitchen door. They went for a walk, then a swim where they let the sun dry their bodies as they talked, joked, laughed and played around. Xena rolled onto her side and ran her fingers over the tattoo on Ulysses' arm as she looked at him, "am I the only woman for you?"

Xena asked and Ulysses turned his head and looked at her, "the one and only," he said and Xena scooted closer so that she could run her fingers over his forehead. "Swear to me that you'll have no other besides me, that you won't get home and be reminded of what you had with all those other women." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "I swear to you Xena I won't ever forget what we have shared here, what you have taught me and the greatest gift you have given me. I am so deeply in love with you and nothing, NOTHING will ever change that. There is no other woman in this world for me; when I get home things may be the same but I am a totally different man.

Women may throw themselves at me when I get home but I will tell them that my heart, body and soul belong to another. If my father insists on marrying me to a princess, I won't do it and I'll tell him the same. That I Ulysses, son of Julian, is in love with Xena of Amphipolis and…" he said as he leaned in and caressed her cheek as he looked into her eyes. "And will one day make her my wife," he said and Xena smiled as she looked into Ulysses' eyes. "Really?" She asked and he nodded as he leaned in more, "really," he said then kissed her softly. "Take comfort in the fact that I have never in my life, seriously or just playing around, told a woman those words. They come from my heart Xena and I mean it," Ulysses said when the kiss ended and as Xena looked into his eyes she saw he really did mean that and all she could do was lean in and resume their kiss.

Ulysses was going to end the kiss but Xena placed her hand on his cheek and they continued to taste each other's lips. They lay there for a while and did that, then got dressed and walked hand in hand, slowly back to the Inn. That evening they had a candle light dinner by themselves just talking about any and everything. Their dinner was just ending when Gregory came up to Ulysses, "excuse the interruption," he said then looked directly at Ulysses, "the ship is here so we'll be leaving out an hour after sunrise," Gregory said and Ulysses looked at him and nodded. Gregory left and Ulysses looked at Xena who was quiet in her own thoughts as was he. When night fell they took a small walk holding hands as they talked and looked up at the stars with Gemini following them. Xena smiled as she watched the wolf pouch on anything she saw, "I think Gemini thinks she's a cat," Ulysses said and she grinned at him and then they were quiet as they continued to slowly walk.

"You won't forget me will you? You know, get back to Ithaca and find you a noblewoman or a princess instead of a village girl," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he brought her hand up to his lips kissing the back of it. "Never my love, I'm interested in you because of the woman you are. I don't like the noblewomen and princesses for a companion, they're just…I've had enough of them." Ulysses said then stopped and looked into Xena's eyes, "the only woman I want or will ever want is you Xena, you and only you," he said then leaned in and kissed her softly. When the kiss ended they headed back towards the Inn and to Xena's room, "if you don't mind can you just hold me tonight?" Xena asked Ulysses who looked into her eyes as he caressed her cheek, "I don't mind at all." He said and so they got ready for bed and when they were in bed they took their usual positions. Xena laid on her side facing way from Ulysses and he was behind her holding her tightly and placing kisses on her arm and shoulder.

He ran his fingers through her hair inhaling her scent while she caressed his arm and they lay that way for a while and when they were both getting sleepy Ulysses lay on his back and Xena moved into his arms with her head on his shoulder. She dosed off before him and he lay there for a while thinking about how everything was going to be when he got home wondering if things would be the same. After about ten minutes he fell asleep and Gemini was on the bed at their feet. Xena woke two hours after sunrise when Gemini was licking her leg signaling Xena to put her on the floor which Xena did. Now that she was woke she couldn't get back to sleep, she was thinking of Ulysses leaving and she never thought it would hurt this much for him to go. She didn't know what she was going to do without him, he had come to mean that much to her. Xena rose up and looked down at Ulysses. _'I'm so in love with him,'_ Xena thought to herself as she ran her fingers over his cheek.

"I love you," Xena whispered to him and Ulysses moaned, "ummm…I love you too," he whispered back to her and Xena looked at him as she continued to run her fingers over his cheek. "I didn't mean to wake you," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes as he ran his fingers up and down her arm. "It's alright," he said and Xena just looked into his eyes, "I can't imagine you not being here," she said. "When I think about it, I know how much I love you but it hurts that you're not going to be here," Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes then gently rolled her onto her back. "I know how you feel, I can't imagine being without you either," he said as he caressed her cheek. He looked into her eyes as he leaned down preparing to kiss her and he slightly pulled back to look into her eyes once more before he leaned down and kissed her softly. The kiss was a soft tasting of lips that slowly grew and as they kissed, Xena ran her hands over Ulysses' chest up to his shoulders where she pushed the shirt off of him.

Xena moaned as the kiss deepened and Ulysses settled himself between her legs; when the kiss ended they were both a little breathless as they looked into each others eyes. "Make love to me," Xena whispered and Ulysses looked at her, "only if you make love to me," he said and they grinned at each other. Xena rose up preparing to kiss Ulysses when he pulled back and she looked at him and grinned when he grinned, Ulysses leaned down and kissed Xena softly and as they kissed Ulysses lowered himself down more onto Xena. Xena moaned as she ran her fingers through his hair and they slowly made love exploring each other's bodies. An hour later Ulysses lay on top of Xena still between her legs both of their bodies covered in sweat. They had just released and Ulysses' lips were resting against Xena's lips as they both tried to catch their breaths. After a few minutes, Xena ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair and he closed his eyes as he felt her fingers caressing his sweaty back. He placed a kiss on her cheek kissing his way over to her ear, "gods I love you so much," Ulysses whispered in her ear then kissed below her ear.

Xena closed her eyes and continued to caress his back as her thighs squeezed him and her feet ran up and down the back of his legs. Ulysses kissed his way back up to Xena's lips and he looked down at his love, he brought his hand up and caressed her cheek. Xena opened her eyes and looked into the brown eyes of the man she had come to fall in love with. Ulysses brushed his lips against hers and they shared a soft kiss. When it ended, Ulysses softly kissed his way back over to Xena's ear, "can I make love to you again?" He asked her then sucked on her earlobe and Xena moaned as she arched into Ulysses' body, "yes," she moaned and Ulysses kissed her passionately. As they kissed, he gently grabbed her arms pinning them to the side of her head then pulled out and pushed back in. Xena moaned and arched into Ulysses as they kissed their fingers intertwining. Ulysses was using a deep penetrating thrust while they kissed. Ten minutes passed and when Ulysses let Xena's hands go she caressed his back then soon rolled him onto his back.

Ulysses smiled as he ran his hands over Xena's back then closed his eyes, tilted his head back and moaned when she started kissing and sucking on his neck while moving against him. They made love once more and an hour and a half later Xena was on her side the sheet covering her as she slept and Ulysses lay behind her holding her tightly as he watched her sleep. Ulysses ran his fingers softly over Xena's arm then leaned down and kissed her arm, Xena moaned but she continued to stay asleep.

Ulysses watched her sleep for a while longer then fell asleep himself. It was an hour before sun rise when Ulysses woke up; he looked down at Xena who was still asleep. He placed a kiss on the back of her neck then eased himself onto his back as he stared up at the ceiling of the room. _'I'm leaving today and I wish I could stay. Maybe I should run again but what would that solve? I would just be on the run again and I would be without the love I have found'_ he thought to himself then looked over at Xena. _'But if I ask her she will come with me. Then that's not the kind of life I want to live with her. Go home Ulysses and face this, face your father. The sooner you do the sooner you can come back here and be with the love of your life'_ Ulysses thought to himself.

He lay there for a few more minutes then eased himself out of the bed; he looked over at Xena as she moved and moaned but she didn't wake up. He quietly put on his clothes then opened the door, "come on Gemini," Ulysses said softly to the wolf. Gemini trotted over jumping up and down ready to go outside. Ulysses grinned as he shook his head and walked out of the room softly closing the door. He went up to the kitchen where Cyrene was already up and cooking and he let Gemini out, "Ulysses," Cyrene called and he stopped then turned and looked at her.

"Yea?" He answered and she looked at him, "I'm sorry for how I treated you when I found out who you were, I…I'm ashamed to say I questioned your motives when you gave me no reason to do so and I just became protective of Xena." Cyrene said and Ulysses looked at her, "it's alright Cyrene, I understand where you're coming from but I love Xena and I will never do anything to hurt her. Just because I'm royalty doesn't change the fact that I love her with all of my heart and soul and I think we are meant to be together.

Hopefully whatever's going on at home won't take long and I will be back for her," he said and Cyrene looked into his eyes seeing that he meant what he said and that he was deeply in love with her daughter. "Then I wish you good luck and hope you return quickly," she said and Ulysses gave her a small grin and nodded. Ulysses headed to the bathing room where he took a shower; when he was finished he headed up to his room where he picked up his bags from off of the floor sitting them on the bed and going all the way to the bottom of one to pull out a silk, blue, long sleeve shirt and a pair of black leather pants with gold stitching. Clothes he had hoped he would never wear again but in the back of his mind he knew he would. He got dressed then sat down and put his boots on and when he was done he packed up all of his things then picked up the lyre Xena had given him and he sat down on the bed and played a short tune on it as he thought about a few of the great times he and Xena had.

Back in Xena's room the sun shinned into the room onto Xena's face and she moaned as she rolled over and instinctively reached out for Ulysses. When she felt nothing but cold sheets she opened her eyes as shot up in the bed and looked around the room. Her heart started racing as she began to panic thinking Ulysses had left without telling her goodbye so she quickly got out of the bed and found some clothes to put on before she raced up the stairs. "Where's Ulysses?" Xena asked, "well good morning to you too," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her. "Mom," she said and before Cyrene could answer Ulysses walked into the kitchen with his bags in his hands and Xena looked at him.

"What?" He asked as he walked over to the table to sit his bags down and Xena looked at him and shook her head. Ulysses looked at her and watched as she ran her fingers through her hair and he walked over to her, "is something wrong?" He asked and she looked at him, "I thought you had left without telling me goodbye," Xena said and Ulysses shook his head as he looked into her eyes. "I would never do that," he said and Xena nodded and just walked into Ulysses welcoming arms and she felt so comforted by them.

When the hug ended he pulled Xena over to a chair where they both sat down, "you look so different," she said as she looked at him and Ulysses looked down at himself then back up at Xena. "Yea," he said then looked at her and caressed her cheek before he placed a lock of hair behind her ear, "I have something I want to give you," he said and she looked at him and watched as he pushed a bag on the table forward. "What's in there?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked into her eyes as he took her hands in his, "money, money that I've been saving since I can't remember," he said and Xena looked at him.

"I can't take that," she said and he looked at her, "why not?" He asked, "because its your money and you might need it," she said and Ulysses grinned as he shook his head. "I have lots more at home, besides I'm giving you this as a small token of my love for you. While I'm gone I want to make sure you, your mother and brothers and this Inn is well taken care of. You may fall on hard times and need this one day or may need to buy something if something should break. Anything you need to use it for you use it," he said and Xena looked at him.

"Ulysses I can't…" she started saying but Ulysses stopped her when he placed his finger on her lips. "Please, it'll make me feel better to know that you will at lease be alright as far as money is concerned." He said and Xena looked into his eyes and nodded, "alright but I'm only taking it to make you feel better," she said and he let out a breath of relief and nodded. "You're taking your lyre with you right?" Xena asked and Ulysses picked it up from the table and looked at it, "this was the best gift I have ever gotten," he said then looked at Xena. "Well you were the best gift I have ever gotten, this is just a perk that came with it," he said with a smile and Xena smiled as well. "But no, I'm not taking it, I was going to leave it here with you," he said and Xena looked at him. "I want you to take it with you Ulysses, practice a little more and write me a few songs," she said and he grinned at her and nodded. As Cyrene walked out of the back door Gemini ran in and over to Ulysses and Xena. Ulysses picked her up and held her as he scratched behind her ears and she licked him on the chin and as Xena watched them she grinned at them both.

"Stop that," he told the cub but she just continued and Ulysses smiled as he shook his head. "Now listen Gemini," he said as he held the wolf up and looked into her yellow eyes. "You watch over and protect your mother, you keep her company at all times and never leave her side," Ulysses told Gemini who seemed to look at him with some understanding in her eyes. When he was done talking to her he placed her on his lap and just rubbed her coat and she leaned into him, "you're going to spoil her," Xena said as she watched Ulysses pick up a piece of bacon off of the table and feed it to Gemini. "As her father it's my right," he said with a grin and Xena smiled at him. When she was finished, Gemini started gnawing on Ulysses' finger and he growled at her. Gemini stopped and looked at him then stood up and started growling at him and Ulysses just growled back. "Ulysses stop teasing that wolf," Cyrene said as she walked back into the kitchen and Ulysses grinned. "I'm not teasing her, I'm just making sure she remembers what she is," he said as she played with Gemini.

Xena just watched him and grinned; Virgil came down the stairs and said good morning but Ulysses ignored him still angry with him. Xena watched as Virgil looked at Ulysses then walked out of the kitchen into the dinning area, looking like he had just lost his best friend. "Hey," Xena called and Ulysses looked at her, "hmm?" He answered and she reached her hand out and caressed his cheek, "do me a favor?" She asked, "anything," he immediately answered and Xena looked at him. "Forgive Virgil and don't be angry with him. He was just doing what he thought was right, as your best friend, he was looking out for you, Ithaca and your parents. So please don't be angry with him," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath. "I just feel like he betrayed me in some way. I mean here I am happier than I have ever been, I finally feel like my life is on track and he goes and ruins everything by telling them where we are as if he didn't know they wouldn't come for us. I feel like he's taken away what time we could have had left," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him.

"Maybe he did, maybe he didn't but don't ruin your life long friendship with Virgil, who is like a brother to you, over a couple of extra weeks you and I could have had. That's in the past, there's nothing we can do about it now but make the future better." Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and grinned, "I've found me a woman with wisdom," he said and she smiled at him. "But seriously, I'll think about what you've said," Ulysses said and Xena stood and so did Ulysses who put Gemini on the floor. "That's all I can ask for," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he stepped closer to Xena until he had her wrapped tightly in his arms as he looked into her eyes and she looked into his. "I'm going to miss you so much," Ulysses said and Xena looked at Ulysses as she caressed his cheek, "I'm going to miss you too," she said. "My lord," Gregory called from the kitchen door and Ulysses looked at him, "its time to go," he said and Ulysses nodded.

"Walk with me to the docks?" Ulysses asked as he picked up his bags and his lyre and Xena nodded; Ulysses walked out of the kitchen first and Xena was right after him but Cyrene stopped her and gave her a bag. Xena walked into the dinning area and saw Ulysses by the front door saying goodbye to some people. When everyone was ready they headed to the docks, Xena and Ulysses holding hands; and as they passed through the market people were telling Ulysses goodbye. When they got to the boat Ulysses went and brought his things down to the cabin below while Xena walked around the ship having never been on one though she admired them and always wanting to sail at sea. "We sail in five minutes," the captain yelled and Ulysses walked over to Xena taking her hand in his and they walked off of the ship down the plank until they were standing on land. Ulysses stood in front of Xena and they looked into each other's eyes as Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes she saw so much love for her in them and she felt his love, their love for each other.

She shook her head as she lowered her head, "I didn't know this would be so hard and hurt so much," Xena said and Ulysses raised her chin and looked at her to see tears had fallen from her eyes. "Tears for me?" He asked as he wiped them away, "I'm sorry, I'm usually not this emotional," Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes then leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. When the kiss ended they were still so close as they looked into each other's eyes while Ulysses ran his hand over the back of Xena's neck and through her hair.

"Sing me my song," he whispered to her and she looked into his eyes as she began to sing the part of the song he loved the most. "And now, ain't nothing else I could need; and now, I'm singing cause you're so, so into me. I got you and we'll be making love endlessly. I'm with you and baby you're with me. So don't you worry about people hanging around they ain't bringing us down. I know you and you know me and that's all that counts; so don't you worry about people hanging around they ain't bringing us down. I know you and you know me and that's…that's why I say. No body gonna love me better I must stick with you forever, no body gonna take me higher, I must stick with you.

You know how to appreciate me I must stick with you my baby, no body gonna ever made me feel this way I must stick with you." Xena sung and Ulysses closed his eyes as he listened to her glorious voice and those wonderful words that touched more than his heart, they touched his soul. "I will forever remember those words and I want you to remember that I love you, I will always love you. My heart and soul belong to you and only you and I will…I swear to you on the love I have for you, that I will be back and we will be together." He said and Xena nodded as she held back the tears that tried to flood her eyes. "I love you too and I'll wait for you," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and he suddenly looked down as tears filled his eyes. "Now I'm crying," he said with a grin and Xena smiled as she wiped away the tear before she leaned in and kissed him softly and soon the kiss turned into a passionate kiss where they were wrapped in each others arms.

When the kiss ended they looked into each others eyes then Ulysses leaned in and kissed her lips softly once more before he pulled back. "Promise you'll never take this off," Xena said as she caressed Ulysses' necklace the other half of the one she wore. "As long as we wear these we will never be apart, I will always feel you and you will always feel me." Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he looked into his loves eyes, "it will never come off," he said and Xena nodded. Ulysses picked up her hand and kissed the back of it before he looked into her eyes once more then turned and headed up the plank to the ship. "Don't forget to write," Xena yelled once Ulysses was on the ship and walked over to the railing and looked at Xena, "I won't," he yelled. Xena stood there on the docks and watched the ship sail away until she could no longer see Ulysses' face and when that happened she headed back to the Inn. When she got there she headed to the kitchen to keep herself busy not really wanting to think about the face that Ulysses was gone.

On the ship Ulysses stood at the railing until he could no longer see Xena and then he let out a breath and headed below to the cabin since he wasn't on a trader's ship, he was on one of Ithaca's royal ships. He sat on the bed then lay back with his arms behind his head and he just lay there and thought about Xena until he dosed off. When he woke up he sat up in the bed then went into his bag and pulled out a piece of parchment, ink and a quill. He walked over to the desk in the cabin where he sat down and let his mind be consumed by thought of Xena and it was then that he sat there and wrote a letter to her. Half an hour letter he was still sitting there writing but thinking of what he wanted to say to her since there was so much even though he just left her a couple of hours ago. "Yea," Ulysses answered since there was a knock on the door and Virgil walked into the room with a tray in his hand, "I thought you could use something to eat since we didn't have breakfast," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded. Virgil looked at him then walked over to the bed where he sat the tray down and was about to leave when Ulysses stopped him, "have a seat Virgil."

Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him then sat down on the corner of the bed and Ulysses turned his chair and looked at Virgil. "I'm angry with you," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "really angry," Ulysses said. "I mean I'm so angry, I could punch you," he said and Virgil looked at him, "alright, you're angry I get the point," Virgil said. "But Xena told me not to be angry with you," he said and Virgil looked at him with surprise in his eyes. "Really? I thought she would hate me more than you, since I'm the cause of you leaving," Virgil said and Ulysses shook his head. "That's not the kind of woman she is, she said she understood why you did what you did and for the record I don't hate you, we're friends, brothers, I could never hate you." Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him and nodded, "I know and I'm sorry Ulysses but when I heard a couple of weeks back that Ithaca could be going to war with Paxos, I had to let them know where we were. So many things could happen, could go wrong and you're the heir to the throne and I wanted to let our families know we were safe."

Virgil said and Ulysses nodded as he listened to his friend, "I understand that Virgil, I just wished you would have come to me and told me those things, instead of going behind my back to send a message. Virgil you and I have to have trust, I will one day be king and you my head advisor trust, will be crucial in that relationship as well as our relationship as friends." Ulysses said as he looked at Virgil who nodded, "I just didn't think you would send a message," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded. "We probably would have argued about it but in the end I would have found a way to send them a message without letting them know where we were. I was just so happy Virgil and I wasn't ready to let that happiness go," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "I know and I'm very sorry," he said then let out a breath, "truth be told I…I was jealous," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him. "Of what?" He asked, "of you and Xena. What you guys had found; I mean I found unbelievable calmness and happiness just working everyday on in the fields until I was exhausted but I was still empty and feeling alone."

Virgil said and Ulysses sort of lowered his head as he listened to his friend, "then I saw you with Xena and I saw how happy you were, how much she made you happy. She completed you I saw that and I was jealous that you were complete and I was still feeling empty. You've fallen in love, found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with and I envy that." Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him and nodded, "I understand and I'm sorry for not being a better friend Virgil." Ulysses said, "what are you talking about? You're a great friend," Virgil said and Ulysses shook his head. "You were looking for the same thing I was looking for and when I found what I was looking for I forgot all about you. I just engulfed myself in what I was feeling for and with Xena that I didn't pay attention to how you were feeling. I should have been a better friend especially for all that you've done and given up for me," Ulysses said and Virgil just looked at him. "Its okay Ulysses, believe me, if I had found what you found with Xena I would have unintentionally forgotten about you."

Virgil said with a grin, "or intentionally," he said his grin turning into a smile especially when Ulysses smiled as he pushed his friend. "But seriously Ulysses its okay I understand I really do," Virgil said and Ulysses looked into his eyes and saw that he did indeed understand and Ulysses nodded. "I'm gonna have to make it up to you though," Ulysses said. "Let's see if we can find you someone when we get home," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "Or at the very least get me laid, I haven't had any in months," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned at his friend.

"I'm glad to say I can't say the same," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him. "Yes well, you don't have to rub it in," Virgil said and Ulysses chuckled at his friend. Ulysses ate the lunch Virgil brought him and when he was finished they went up top where they clowned around with the crew and guards then helped the crew out. When night fell, he and Virgil shared the cabin and they lay there and talked about the old times and the women until Virgil dosed off to sleep. Ulysses lay there a while longer thinking about Xena and then he rolled onto his side facing away from Virgil and managed to dose off to sleep where he had great dreams of he and Xena.

Back at the Inn in Amphipolis, Xena helped her mother out in the kitchen intent on keeping herself busy, when she had a break she ate something then tended to Argo with Gemini trailing behind her doing as Ulysses asked. She took Argo for a ride then brought her back to the stables where she cooled her off, the brushed her down, gave her a few treats, food and water before she left. Night came all too soon and when the Inn closed and she and her mother were finished with cleaning up Xena went down to her room. She looked around the empty room so used to seeing Ulysses lying in her bed where most of the time he waited for her and on those rare times when he was asleep she knew it was because it had been a long, hard day. Xena let out a breath as she picked Gemini up, "I guess it's just you and me for a while Gemini," Xena said as she rubbed the cub and Gemini looked at her sensing the sorrow in her mistress she cuddled into her and Xena grinned.

Xena sat down on the bed placing Gemini down on it then Xena thought she ought to get ready for bed. She took off her boots placing them to the side then stood and walked over to her dresser where she opened the first drawer and was about to pull out a shift when she spotted one of Ulysses' shirts laying across the chair in her room. She closed the drawer and walked over to the chair where she picked the shirt up, it was the blue sleeveless shirt that she had bought for him because the fabric was so soft. He often wore the shirt when they were just lounging around, Xena brought the shirt up to her nose where she closed her eyes and inhaled his scent and it took her back to a sunny day where they were lying under a tree after a picnic. The wind was blowing and she and Ulysses were talking and he was making her laugh, she lay on his chest and she leaned into him often as she laughed. _'That was a great day'_ Xena thought to herself as she opened her eyes, she took off her dress and put on his shirt feeling in some way that he was surrounding her, holding her.

She turned down all of the lanterns then got into bed and under the covers. She looked over at the pillow Ulysses usually lay on and she just reached out to it. Gemini cuddled up to Xena by her stomach and they both let out breaths before they fell into Morpheus' arms. A week passed and Xena threw herself into her work at the Inn and her training with Athena, anything to help her keep her mind off of how much she missed Ulysses and how lonely she was and how much she hurt without him.

**Continued In**

**Chapter Seven: Facing the Past**

**Positive and negative feedback is welcomed**

**And very appreciated. So please let me know what you think**

**About the story and if there is anything that you would like to see.**

**Thanks a lot **


	7. Chapter 7

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. The songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. lol 

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together.

**Chapter Seven: Facing the Past**

A week passed at sea and with good wind Ulysses was standing up top and saw Ithaca not far away, "home already," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded. "Seemed like it took us longer to leave," he said and Ulysses chuckled at him. "When you think about it, it did take us longer to leave; we were sneaking around," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. An hour later they were walking off of the ship with their bags in hand and when they hit the ground there was a carriage waiting for them. "My lord," the guard who opened the door to carriage said as Ulysses approached and the guard bowed his head. Ulysses put his things in the back of the carriage as did Virgil and then they got into the carriage. Horses waited for the guards who were instructed not to let them out of their sights. Word had already been sent up to the palace of their arrival, so in the ten minutes that it took for them to reach the palace, Julian, Marguerite and Lucius and Virgil's mother, Marina, were waiting for them.

When they got out of the carriage they looked up at their parents then at each other, "are you ready?" Ulysses asked, "I think we can take the guards and run for it," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned at his friend. They walked up the stairs until Ulysses was looking into his father's eyes where he saw anger but also a great deal of relief. Julian stepped down and looked into his son's eyes before hugged him and Ulysses closed his eyes and returned his father's hug. "I could kill you Virgil," Lucius said as he hugged his son then pulled him back and before Lucius could say anything his wife stepped up and hugged her son. "Let me have a look at you. Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Marina asked and Virgil grinned a tolerant grin at his mother, "I'm fine mom, I'm fine," he said and Lucius looked at him. "You're gonna be far from fine when your mother and I get through with you," Lucius said to his son and Virgil groaned.

"My lord with your leave," Lucius said to Julian who nodded and watched as he walked away dragging Virgil with him. Marguerite walked down to Ulysses and looked at him before she slapped him, "ow," he said, the slap having really stung. Marguerite cried as she pulled her son into her arms and Ulysses hugged her back, "I'm okay mom, really," he said and she just cried harder and he continued to hold her. "Come, we'll talk in my office," Julian said as he gently pulled his wife away while looking at his son and Ulysses looked at him. "Well I have to get my things," he said, "leave them, the servants will see to them," Julian said and Ulysses nodded and walked into the palace followed by his mother and father. Once in the palace the doors were closed behind them and all three of them walked in silence to Julian's office. Once there they walked in and the door was closed. "Sit down Ulysses," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father then sat down in the char; Marguerite walked up to Julian so that she was standing next to him.

"First off are you alright? You're not hurt or anything?" Julian asked and Ulysses shook his head, "I'm fine," he said and Julian nodded as he looked at his son. "Secondly, what in the world possessed you and Virgil to do what you did? I mean were you trying to prove something to your mother and I?" Julian asked and Ulysses looked at him, "first off you should know Virgil had nothing to do with this, it was all my idea. Secondly, I left partly because of you and mom but mostly for myself. No matter how I tried to tell you dad," Ulysses said as he looked at his father, "or explain it to you mom," he said his sight switching to her. "You guys never listened and you never understood, I was dying here and nothing was fixing it. You tried to fix it with work and that only made it worse. I felt like I was slowly suffocating and there was nothing I could do about it and the people I needed most to understand me, to me you couldn't or wouldn't." Ulysses said as he looked at his parents and they looked back at him.

"Still Ulysses, running away was not the answer, you scared you mother and I to death. We didn't know if you were okay, if you were alive, if you had money to take care of yourself, where you were, nothing." Julian said and Ulysses nodded, "I know and I'm sorry for making you both worry, especially you mom and maybe running away wasn't the answer but it was the only choice left to me so I took it and as it turns out, it was what I needed more than I even knew," Ulysses said and Julian let out a breath as he looked at his son as he sat down in his chair at the head of the table and Marguerite sat down next to her husband. "We will need to talk more about this Ulysses and if I could I would punish you for this I am your father, I am your King so I can punish you but I won't. I understand that you thought you had a choice to make and you made it, I will however, express my disappointment in you."

Julian said as he looked into his son's eyes and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked down, his father's disappointment in him, hitting him like it was a sword running through his chest. "I did not raise a runner Ulysses and I understand that I can be complicated and stubborn at times but as my son, it is your duty, it is your right to make me see and listen to what it is you think I'm not seeing or listening to. Keep pushing at me Ulysses and keep pushing at your mother until we understand you because I agree with you, we are the most important people in your life and we should understand you and I am disappointed not only in you but also in myself."

He said then let out a breath as he leaned back in his chair and looked at Ulysses, Marguerite placed her hand on top of Julian's and he turned his hand over and squeezed her hand for comfort and reassurance that she was always by his side. "I'm disappointed that I didn't know what my own child, my own son needed. I was too consumed by other things, things that I thought you needed to make you a good man and a great King. My failure was that I didn't recognize the great man you already are and the fantastic King I know you will be."

Julian said then let out a breath as he sat up, "we'll talk more about this later but right now there are more important things going on," Julian said. "We are at war with Paxos, King Dartanion has declared war on us," Marguerite said. "What? Why?" Ulysses asked and Julian let out a breath, "we were having a small dispute over trading and whose waters were whose. The next thing I know he's talking about Ithaca should be under his rule and I told him that was never going to happen. I told him we could negotiate some things but everything we talked about he had a negative look on and so this morning he has declared war on us."

Julian said and Ulysses shook his head, "that's why it is imperative that whatever your issues Ulysses we work them out together," Marguerite said to her son and he looked at her then at his father. "Your mother is right Ulysses, whatever is going on with you, whatever your problems or fears, we should work through them together. You're not alone and I don't want you to ever fell that you are, not as long as you have your mother and I." Julian said and Ulysses looked at him then nodded and Julian nodded as well. "Now I have some things to see to, I'm sure you need to clean up and you're tired so I'll see you at dinner."

Julian told Ulysses who knew that was him being dismissed so he stood and walked over to the door, "oh and the two guards that are following you are just a reminder that some things will not go without repercussions," Julian said and Ulysses didn't argue he just nodded and left his father's office. "That went well," Julian said and Marguerite nodded, "there's something different about him. He's changed," she said and Julian looked at her. "Perhaps only time will tell," Julian said then placed a soft kiss on his wife's lips and she knew that was her queue to leave as well.

Ulysses walked back to his room with two guards following him and they stayed outside of his room while he was in there. He walked to his bedroom where his bags were placed on the bed along side his lyre. He remembered the letter he had written Xena and he went to his bag and pulled it out then got some wax and sealed it with his signet ring. He then walked to the front door and looked at one of the guards, "can you send this to the message room please and make sure it's sent out as soon as possible?" Ulysses asked and the guard bowed his head, "yes my lord," he said and Ulysses nodded then closed the door and headed back to his room. His father was right, he did need to clean up so he went and took a shower then came back to his room where he put on some baggy pants and a loose shirt. He placed his bags on the floor, having put his money back in its hiding place before he took a shower. He stood his lyre up next to the bed by his sword, then lay down on his soft bed and silk sheets, he hugged the pillow and in moments he had fallen asleep.

He woke an hour before dinner and by the time he was dressed it was ten minutes before dinner. He walked out of his room locking the door behind him and the guards followed him to the dinning hall. When he got there his mother and sister were already there and Camilla jumped out of her seat and hugged her brother. "I missed you," she said and he grinned as he placed a kiss on the side of her forehead. "I missed you too," Ulysses said and when the hug ended Camilla slapped him. "Ow," he said again and she looked at him with her hands on her hips, "serves you right for making us worry half to death," she said and Ulysses looked at his sister and shook his head as he walked over to his chair and sat down. The servant walked over and poured Ulysses a glass of wine and when he picked his glass up his sister caught sight of the tattoo on his arm. "You got a tattoo," Camilla said and Marguerite looked at her son's arm.

"Ulysses, why did you go and vandalize yourself like that?" Marguerite asked her son and Ulysses let out a breath, "mom, please, it's just something I wanted to do." He said and Marguerite shook her head at her son, "did it hurt?" Camilla asked and Ulysses nodded, "yea," he said. "What's it say?" She asked, "what does what say?" Julian asked as he walked over to the table and sat down. "Your son got a tattoo," Marguerite said. "Really? I've always wanted one," Julian said and Marguerite hit him on his arm as she gave him a disapproving stare. "I mean Ulysses you shouldn't have gotten that," Julian said and Ulysses grinned at him. "I think it looks sexy on him, I bet that's why you got it, to impress women," Camilla said and Ulysses looked into his sisters eyes. "No," he said and she looked at him and saw he meant it. "Ulysses," a familiar voice called and Ulysses turned his head to see Victoria and he smiled as he stood. "Hey," he said as he walked over to her and she over to him, until they were embraced in a hug.

Victoria closed her eyes as she clung to him tightly, fearing that if she let him go he would leave again. Ulysses pulled back and looked at her, "I've missed you," she said and he grinned at her. "I've missed you too, I've thought about you too. Wondering what you were up to, if some young man had sweeped you off your feet," he said with a grin and Victoria grinned as she shook her head. "No just the usual and missing you," she said and he grinned at her. Victoria turned her head as her father called her, "you better go," Ulysses said and she turned back to look at Ulysses. "I wanted to talk to you," she said and he looked at her, "we can talk tomorrow," he said and she looked into his eyes and nodded. Ulysses watched as she walked over to her normal table where he family and another sat and he let out a breath as he walked back over to his table and sat down. "Ulysses," Camilla called and he looked at her as he took a small gulp of wine, "hmmm?" He asked and Camilla let out a breath, "can you please leave Victoria be?

She was very heart broken when you left and it's taken her a while to get over you. You're not going to do anything but hurt her more if you don't have honorable intentions towards her," Camilla said and Ulysses looked at his sister. "Camilla I promise you, all I'm interested in Victoria is a friendship and nothing more, no strings attached and I will let her know that." He said and Camilla looked at him, "okay, who are you and what have you done with my brother?" She asked and Ulysses grinned at her then looked at Virgil who sat down next to Ulysses and Lucius and his wife and daughter sat down at the table as well. "Virgil are you sure you brought back my brother because he's acting weird," Camilla said and Virgil looked at her then at Ulysses. "As far as I know this is Ulysses," he said and Ulysses just grinned as he shook his head at them. Everyone at the table talked until dinner was brought out and even then there was conversation going on.

When dinner was over, Ulysses went back to his room where he unpacked his things and in the midst of it he found one of the pictures of Xena. He pulled the band from around it and unrolled it; it was the picture of Xena he loved the most with her so relaxed and looking so sexy yet so innocent. He sat the picture down on his night stand then finished going through his bags. When he was done he placed them in his closet then got ready for bed, but having taken a nap earlier he wasn't that tired, so he picked up his lyre and placed it on his lap getting ready to play while he sat the picture of Xena on his legs so that he could see her while he thought of music and lyrics to go with the music. He played until he started getting tired; he placed his lyre back beside the bed and looked at Xena's picture once more, "good night my love," Ulysses said then opened the drawer on the stand and placed the picture in it. He turned down the only lantern lit then scooted down under the covers, closed his eyes and thought of Xena. With thoughts of his love in his head he happily fell asleep.

When morning came Ulysses woke up and took a shower to help himself wake up, he dressed then left his room with the guards following him still. "Ulysses," Victoria called as she walked from the opposite way and he looked at her, "hey," he said as he continued to walk until they met up. "So how was your first day back?" She asked and Ulysses nodded, "better than I thought it would go," he said and Victoria nodded then slapped Ulysses. "Ow," he said as he looked at her, "I'm going to need for everyone to stop hitting me," he said and she looked at him. "Do you know how much you leaving hurt me?" She asked and he let out a breath as he stopped walking and looked at her, "I know I hurt you Victoria but I warned you, I told you before we started, what I wasn't looking for. You said you understood," he said and she let out a breath and nodded. "I did at first but I couldn't stop myself from feeling and believe me I tried but…" she said then shook her head and Ulysses let out a breath at he looked at Victoria.

"Victoria I never meant to hurt you and I should have stopped it before it began but you were right I needed comfort. You were a great friend to me, you listened and helped me through things. I hope we can remain good friends," he said and she looked at him. "That's all just friends?" Victoria asked and Ulysses looked into her eyes and nodded, "I can't give you anything else," Ulysses said and she looked at him and nodded. "Well I guess I'll see you around," she said then turned to leave, "Victoria," Ulysses called then let out a breath as she walked away. _'This day is not starting off well'_ Ulysses thought to himself then headed to the Dinning Hall taking the long way since he needed to clear his head. When he got to the hall everyone was at the table so he sat down, "what did you do to Victoria?" Camilla asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "I'm not home one day and already you're harassing me," Ulysses said and Camilla just looked at him. "What did you do? I know it was you because when I passed her in the hall she was crying and she was saying something about you."

Camilla said and Ulysses looked at her, "look I just told her all we could be is friends and nothing more because I have nothing to give her," he said. "Are you sure?" Camilla asked, "maybe it was the way you said it," his mother said and Ulysses let out a breath. "Look I told her as gently as possible that all we could be is friends. Now I'm sorry if that has upset her but that's just the way it is." He said and Camilla was about to say something but he looked at her, "is this not what you wanted? Can you please leave me alone about it," he said and she looked at him and let out a breath. Breakfast was brought out and they all began to eat, "Ulysses we're having council today with the war advisors and captains and generals, I want you to be there," Julian said and Ulysses nodded. When they were finished breakfast Ulysses followed Julian to his office and the day was spent going over war plans and deciding the best tactics.

Ulysses' days pretty much passed like this; in the mornings he ran then did some exercises and the rest of the day he handled business pertaining to Ithaca, his father having actually asked him if he wanted his duties back and Ulysses feeling like he could do them, told him yes. The punishment he and Virgil had received was that they weren't allowed to go any where without the guards and they also weren't allowed to leave the palace for personal reasons. "So much for getting laid," Virgil said as he and Ulysses sparred and Ulysses grinned at his friend. "I find it funny that we're twenty five years old and still being punished by our parents," Ulysses said as he swung at Virgil who ducked and nodded. "My little sister has more freedom than we do," Virgil said and Ulysses chuckled while they continued sparring. After dinner Ulysses' nights were filled with sitting down and writing to Xena since there were a million things he wanted to tell her or if he wasn't doing that he was writing music and lyrics for the songs he had come up with.

The only downside to all of it was that he was missing Xena terribly, it had been almost two weeks since he had been home, three weeks since he had last seen Xena. He found himself day dreaming about her while he had breaks or when he was at lunch or dinner. Yes Xena not being there was a huge down side, that and Victoria wasn't talking to him. She had become a good friend and to lose her hurt but there was nothing he could do about it, she wanted something he couldn't give her; his heart, body and soul belonged to Xena. "I was wrong Ulysses," Camilla said at dinner and he looked at her. "What are you talking about?" He asked as he ate his dinner, "Victoria, she's been sulking ever since you got back. Whatever you told her take it back and do what it is you do," Camilla said and Ulysses grinned at his sister. "What I do?" He asked, "yea you know, make women drool all over themselves for you," Camilla said and Ulysses chuckled at his sister.

"I'm serious Ulysses," Camilla said and he looked at her, "I know you are, that's why I'm laughing." He said and she let out a frustrating breath, "look Camilla, believe it or not I didn't leave Victoria alone because you said so. I did it because it was the right thing to do and like I told her, I can't give her what she wants." Ulysses said, "why not?" Camilla asked, "Its just sex," Camilla said. "Camilla," Marguerite said and Camilla looked at her mother. "What? It is just sex," she said. "I believe your mother is referring to the way you're saying it," Julian said as he looked at his daughter. "Fine it's just you penetrating her for the sake of pleasure," Camilla said and Ulysses laughed at his sister and at the way their parents were looking. "Ulysses you're rubbing off on your sister," Julian said and he grinned at his father, "I didn't teach her that and she sure didn't hear those words from me." Ulysses said and Camilla rolled her eyes, "look Ulysses I'm serious please talk to her," Camilla said and Ulysses looked at her.

"I'll talk to her Camilla but my feelings haven't changed on the subject, I'm not having sex with her," Ulysses said. "Really, has dinner become talking about sex?" Marguerite asked her children and they looked at her, "language mom," they both said then laughed. Marguerite chuckled as did Julian, both of them finally thinking their family was whole again, yes life was good for them but it wouldn't stay that way for long.

**Amphipolis…**

"Come on pick up your feet," Athena yelled to her elite archers, who were being beaten badly by her chosen whom she was very proud of. Xena wore all black and she even wore a hood, the only thing anyone could see were her eyes and her moves were fast, precise and perfect. Where she once started off with a staff in training she was now using two swords. She hadn't been using two swords long she just wanted to try it at this drill session and found she was good at it. "Enough," Athena yelled, shaking her head at her archers who were picking themselves up off of the ground as she walked over to them. "Elainis you're not concentrating like I taught you. Your thinking more on how to defeat Xena rather than concentrating on your moves," Athena said and Elainis bowed her head when Athena was done. "The rest of you," she yelled as she spoke to the rest of her archers, "Xena is good, I know that, that's why she's my chosen but you are my elite archers, you're supposed to be able to give her more of a challenge that what you just did."

Athena said and they all bowed their heads in respect, "I am disappointed but we will work on this together," she told them. "You are dismissed for lunch, be back here in an hour," Athena said and they walked out of the training arena. Xena pulled off her hood running her fingers through her hair and loosening it up, "you were harder on me," Xena said and Athena looked at her. "I expect a lot more from you than I do from them," Athena said and Xena nodded then walked over to a bench where she let out a breath as she sat down. "Is everything alright Xena?" Athena asked and Xena nodded as she took a couple of deep gulps from her water skin, "I'm fine," Xena said and Athena looked at her and nodded. "Good because I think you're ready for you first mission," Athena said and Xena looked at her. "Really?" She asked and Athena nodded, "there is someone I need you to protect, one of my head priestesses of one of my temples.

Gods aren't allowed to interfere with a mortal's life directly, that's why most of us have chosen's, but as you'll soon learn we don't all follow those rules. You'll be protecting her from a local warlord in the town of Larissa, if you can manage to get rid of him you'll be doing more than Annette a favor." Athena said and Xena nodded, "so Annette is her name?" Xena asked and Athena nodded, "you'll be leaving tomorrow morning and I suggest you bring Argo," Athena said and Xena nodded. "I'll be ready," Xena said and Athena looked at her and nodded. "I'll take you back now," Athena said and Xena stood standing next to Athena and in a minute she was back at the Inn at the back entrance. "Get some rest," Athena said and Xena nodded then watched her goddess disappear. Xena let out a breath and walked in through the back door, Gemini running her over if she could, "Xena next time please take that wolf where ever you go. She was crying and howling the whole time you were gone," Cyrene told her daughter and Xena grinned as she picked up Gemini.

"I'm going for a ride on Argo I'll be back," Xena said and Cyrene nodded as she watched her daughter walk out of the kitchen. Xena walked into the stable and talked to Argo for a bit before she saddled her then lead her outside, "stop that Gemini," Xena told the wolf as she jumped up and down trying to catch Argo's tail, the mare being very patient with her. Xena picked Gemini up and placed her in the saddle bag then got up on Argo, "soon you're going to be too big to ride there," Xena told Gemini who looked at Xena as she panted. Xena grinned as she shook her head then led Argo out the back way out of town and once they were clear of people Xena rode Argo and just let the mare be free and go where ever she wanted to go. After an hour of riding Xena got off of Argo and let her roam and cool off, and Gemini ran trying to catch whatever it is she saw. Another hour passed and Xena rode back into town where she stabled Argo, fed her and gave her clean water while she brushed her down.

"We're going on a trip tomorrow girl, I bet you'll like it," Xena told the horse smiling as Argo bobbed her head up and down as though she were agreeing. Twenty minutes later Xena patted Argo on her side, "have a good night girl," Xena told Argo who neighed; Xena walked out of the stables with Gemini behind her. She went into the Inn where she talked to her mother briefly, "there's a hot bath waiting for you, Lyceus said he thought you would need it," Cyrene said and Xena nodded. "Oh and there's a letter on your bed, it's from Ithaca," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her and grinned then ran down the stairs, all Cyrene could do was smile at her daughter. When Xena got to her room she opened the door and ran over to the bed and picked up the letter where she saw the seal. She quickly took off her clothes and wrapped herself in a towel then headed to the bathing room, glad to see that it was empty. She walked over to the tub with the steaming water, undid her towel letting it drop to the floor where she sat the letter.

She got into the tub moaning at the warmth of the water which immediately began to ease her sore muscles and relax tensed ones. She dunked her head under the water then came back up running her hands over her hair to ring the water out before she let out a breath and leaned back against the tub. Now that she was relaxed, she dried her hands on her towel then picked up the letter looking at it as if it were going to open itself and inside, hold Ulysses. Xena let out a breath as she opened the seal then unfold the letter and began reading it.

Dear Xena,

You yell to me from the docks, don't forget to write and I stand on the ship and watch as I sail away from you my love. I stand there until I can no longer see you and I am sure you can no longer see me. I go down to the cabin where I lay down on the bed and think of you until I have fallen asleep, I guess I was more tired from our lovemaking that morning than I thought.

He wrote in the letter and Xena smiled as she read it.

As I sleep, I dream wonderful dreams of you and I together. When I wake, I immediately find parchment, ink and a quill and start writing. Gods Xena I miss you terribly already, I have thought several times that I can jump off of the ship and swim back to you and then we can run away to a place where no one would ever find us and we would be happy. But then I remember your words and how you tell me I can't run, I have to face my problems which I think would be so much easier if you were by my side holding my hand. Have I mentioned I'm missing you terribly? Anyway, there are so many things I want to tell you, things that I was too afraid to utter to you for fear you wouldn't feel the same way. You ask what has changed my mind? The tears you shed for me as we said our last goodbyes, I don't know, I guess in a way your tears and my tears have sealed what we feel for each other, or it could be my crazy thinking.

As I sit her and write this letter to you, I think where to start? There are so many things I love about you, in my eyes you are perfect, heart, body and soul. Am I making you smile? Am I making you blush?

Ulysses asked in the letter and Xena smiled and blushed as she brought her fingers up to lips while continuing to read the letter.

I think the perfect place to start, is how you make me feel. You already know when I first laid eyes on you I thought you were a goddess and I think it's important for you to know that my feelings have changed on the subject. You are so beautiful Xena, there are just no words to describe your beauty, but I think it's also important for you to know, your beauty isn't the only thing that attracted me to you. It's hard for me to explain but from the moment I looked into your eyes I knew, I knew you were the one for me. Something clicked inside me that yelled, this is what you have been missing in your life, this is what you have been searching for. You know people go their entire lives feeling empty and lost, never finding that one thing that they were missing. I'm happy to say that I found mine, that I have found my soulmate.

There is no other way to explain how I feel complete when I'm around you. Or when you smile you light up my world. How can I explain that your happiness means more to me than my own, for if you are unhappy so am I. When you're cut I bleed; you are apart of, me as I am you. I bet you think I'm crazy now, that you've fallen in love with a crazy guy.

Ulysses said in the letter and Xena shook her head as she read it, _'no you're not crazy my love, I feel those same things'_ Xena thought to herself then continued to read the letter that she was all wrapped up in.

That's okay if you do think that, I just felt you had the right to know how I was feeling, I don't want us to ever have secrets in our relationship. In saying that, I wanted to let you know that I'm sacred. I'm scared of returning home and that everything will be the same. That I'll die in the inside and never see you again, the thought of never seeing you again scares me more than anything is this world. Then I think, when in our relationship have I come to depend on you so much, not that it's a problem, I was just wondering when did I fall this deeply in love with you? Was it our first time together, when you gave yourself to me? And on that night I gave myself to you. I bet you didn't know that did you? On that glorious night I gave you my heart and bared my soul to you. I had never done that before with any woman and I thought it should have been scary but it wasn't, it was as if, I knew everything was going to be alright, that this, that we, were meant to be.

Strange isn't it? That two people who haven't known each other for that long, to feel so much for each other, yet I saw nothing wrong with it, it felt so right. You know what? I think I'm talking too much, so what I'll do is quickly finish up this letter and then send you another next week, which will go exactly with this letter. I'll pick up on the many things I love about you, how much I miss you, what's going on with me and when it was that we fell so deeply in love with each other. I hope getting this letter has somehow brightened your day, I know its not much but I like to think these words hold my love for you and are expressing that love as best as possible. I hope to hear from you soon my love, oh and how are Gemini and Argo. Strangely enough I miss that wolf. I know, I know, if I keep calling her wolf she'll never learn her name. Oh Xena I miss you so much, at night I look up at the stars and wonder what you are doing and wishing I could be by your side.

I do nothing but dream of you and it is those dreams that comfort me and ease the pain in my chest. Who knew us being separated would be so hard, but hopefully I'll see you in a couple of months and then, we'll be together once more. There I go again talking too much, so I'll just end this letter saying I love you so much.

Love,

Ulysses

P.S I wanted to let you know that the seal on the letter is my own personal seal, so all my letters should have that seal on it. I love you and I miss you.

By the time Xena was finished reading the letter the water had cooled down significantly and her heart was pounding as she read every word. She closed the letter up and sat it back down on her towel then took her bath, then washed her hair then got out and dried off. She wrapped the towel around her body, picked up her letter and headed back to her room. When she got there she put on some underwear then immediately put on Ulysses' shirt. She laid down on her back on the bed and reread Ulysses' letter again and she was smiling like a fool. It was no where dinner time but she was relaxed and tired so when she was finished reading the letter she placed it under her pillow then got under the cover. Gemini put her paws up on the bed standing up on her hind legs as she looked at Xena who shook her head as she picked the cub up and placed her on the bed. "You know you're gonna have to learn how to get up here," Xena said and Gemini looked at her as she licked her lips then laid her head down on Xena's thigh.

Xena shook her head and just pushed into the pillow, closed her eyes and was asleep in a matter of few minutes. When she woke it was an hour before dinner. She found some parchment and ink on one of the shelves in her room then walked over to the table in her room and sat down. She sat there and started writing her letter to Ulysses and just like him she had so many things she wanted to tell him. Before she knew it dinner time snuck up on her but she didn't stop writing until she was finished and that was an hour later, by then her mother had brought her some dinner and Xena barely spared her a thank you as she wrote to Ulysses. When she was finally finished, she folded the letter then thought she didn't have a seal to seal the letter which would say it was from Xena. "Athena," Xena called and it took the goddess too long to answer, "Athena," Xena called again and then Athena appeared.

"What's the matter?" Athena asked and Xena looked at her disheveled appearance, "were you busy?" Xena asked and Athena let out a breath. "As a matter of fact I was getting a little rest," Athena said and Xena looked at her, "I didn't know gods slept," Xena said and Athena nodded. "Not all the time like mortals mind you, but we do sleep," Athena said, "oh," Xena replied. "I'm sure you didn't call me here to discuss my sleeping patterns so what is it you needed?" Athena asked, "oh I got a letter from Ulysses and I was writing him back. I just finished the letter and wanted to seal it when I realized I didn't have a signet ring, I mean besides the regular old seal mark of Amphipolis but I want him to know it's from me personally, I want his heart to jump and flip when he sees the seal because he knows the letter is from me." Xena said and Athena looked at her then shook her head, "it's amazing that I understood that," Athena said then held out her hand and Xena watched as a small golden figure appeared in it and when the glow was gone there lay a signet ring.

"This was going to be a surprise but since you need it now," Athena said and Xena took the ring from her and looked at it. In the middle of the mold was an 'X', the 'X' being made with two crossed swords. Between the parts of the 'X' lay Athena's signs of wisdom and war which were on top and bottom and on the sides were a horse and a wolf then smack dab in the middle was a rose, Aphrodite's sign of love. "This is beautiful, I love it," Xena said and Athena grinned at her, "I'm glad, you are to especially use this signet ring when you're sending messages to me, I won't except any another seal." Athena said and Xena nodded, "now that that's settled I'm going back to bed and you should do the same," Athena said then disappeared. Xena grabbed the letter and wrote something down in it real quick before she closed it back up then walked over to a shelf where she grabbed a stick of wax and ran the tip through a near by candle. Once the wax was soft enough she pressed it down on the letter where the two edges met then pressed the mold of the ring into the warm wax seeing her seal in the wax.

She left the letter sitting on the table where it was in sight so she would remember to send it out. With that done, she went up to the kitchen where she helped her mother with the patrons and as usual when closing time came she helped clean up then went back down to her room. She wasn't that sleepy so she lay in the bed staring up at the ceiling as she thought about Ulysses and about half an hour later she fell asleep and had wonderful dreams of Ulysses. When morning came Xena was up bright and early getting dressed and ready for her first mission. She put on a black leather skirt that came down just below her knee and a blue sleeveless shirt that she tucked into her skirt; on top of that went and black leather vest which she laced up in the back then tied it. Athena had given her this outfit, one of many pieces of clothes the goddess had given her. She sat down on the bed and put on her black boots that came up to her calves.

When she was done, she stood and walked over to her mirror where she brushed her hair back into a ponytail and then tied it with a hair tie. When she was done, she packed a few light things then went upstairs to the kitchen where he mother whistled at her and Xena grinned at her. "Here I packed you some food," Cyrene said as she pushed a small sack on the counter over to Xena. "Thanks," Xena said as she sat her bag down on the counter, opened it up then placed the small sack of food in the bag. "Are you sure you don't know how long you're going to be gone?" Cyrene asked and Xena looked at her, "I'm sure mom, I could be gone a few days or a few weeks." Xena said, "well, you will be careful won't you?" Cyrene asked her daughter with concern in her eyes and Xena nodded. "Yes mom, you don't need to worry," Xena said, "and neither do you Corrinna," Xena said without turning around knowing it was the healer walking in through the back door.

"How did you know it was me?" Corrinna asked as she walked over to the counter where Xena was leaning. "I'm that good," Xena said with a grin and Corrinna rolled her eyes. "Yea well in case you're not that good, I brought something for you," Corrinna said then sat the small sack down on the table and it was Xena who rolled her eyes. "Between you and mom you're gonna make my saddle bags too heavy," Xena said and Corrinna looked at her. "You may be complaining now but if you get cut you'll be thanking me that you have the necessary herbs to clean it and bandages to wrap it, so it doesn't get infected." Corrinna said and Xena nodded, "and I got this made for you," Corrinna said as she placed a leather bag on the counter and Xena looked at it. "Corrinna this is beautiful," Xena said as she ran her hand over the blue and gold fine stitching all along the bag and then an 'x' stitching with a circle around it.

"A present from your mother and I," Corrinna said as she walked over to Cyrene and stood next to her, "I love it, thank you both," Xena said and they both nodded. "Now that you have another bag you have room for more food," Cyrene said as she pulled another small sack from the side and handed it to Xena who smiled at her mother. "Well at least I won't go hungry," Xena said and Cyrene and Corrinna both nodded. Xena stood there and packed that bag while she talked with her mother and Corrinna and when she was done she headed outside to the stables and meeting her at the door was Gemini who was ready to go. "Alright, alright we'll be leaving in a little bit," Xena told the wolf smiling at her as she walked into the stable. When Argo spotted her the horse neighed as she bobbed her head up and down, "you're excited too huh girl?" Xena asked the golden palomino. "Let's get you ready," Xena said as she went to another stall and picked up Argo's saddle carrying it back over to the horse and putting it on, Xena then got Argo's bridle and put it on her as well.

When she was done she opened the main stall door and guided Argo out, "out of the way Gemini," Xena told the wolf making sure she didn't get stepped on especially by Argo. "Come on girl," Xena said in a soft voice as she clicked her tongue telling Argo to come on. When Argo was outside she shook her head and began prancing around and Xena smiled as she looked at her beautiful horse. "She's a beautiful horse, I couldn't have found one better for you," Athena said after she had appeared and Xena looked at her. "I see you're woke," Xena said with a grin and Athena grinned at her as she walked over to Xena holding a long covered item in her hand. "Yes well, after our little discussion I went back to get some sleep but Aphrodite came bothering me, then Hermes, then Zeus, like I'm everybody's counselor." Athena said and Xena nodded, "sounds tough," Xena said, "you have no idea." Athena said then looked over Xena, "I see you're all ready," Athena said and Xena nodded.

"I knew that outfit would look great on you," Athena said as she looked over it then shook her head, "look at me I'm sounding like Aphrodite," Athena said and Xena grinned. "I do believe you're lacking one thing," Athena said then brought the covered object up to her other hand pulling the cloth off to reveal a sword. Xena looked at the sword in awe and she walked up closer reaching her hand out to touch it but stopped and looked at Athena for permission. "Can I?" Xena asked and Athena nodded, "it's your sword," Athena said and Xena looked at her then back down at the sword. She took it from Athena's hands then pulled it out of the scabbard, holding it up and if it was possible, looking at it in more awe. The blade was perfect in every way and it was polished so it shined. "This sword is…is," Xena said then shook her head as she couldn't find a word to describe the sword and how she felt about it. "I know its some of Hephaestus' best work," Athena said and Xena looked at her.

"This sword is unbreakable, it has its little gifts that you will find out one by one," Athena said with a grin and Xena nodded then looked at the sword which had writing etched into the blade. "Chosen of wisdom, chosen of war but only chosen of one, wisdom of mind, heart, body and soul," Xena read then looked at Athena. "I don't know this language yet I can read it," Xena said and Athena nodded. "It's an ancient language only a few people know, a gift from me," Athena said and Xena nodded then looked at the hilt of the sword which was gold and had the same symbols on it as her signet ring. "Thank you so much Athena this is absolutely beautiful," Xena said then walked up to Athena and hugged her. "You're welcome," Athena said as she hugged Xena back. When the hug ended Athena stepped back then waved her hand over Xena's body and the sword that was in Xena's hand was now on her back and she now had multiple daggers hidden everywhere.

"You're like a personal armory," Xena told Athena as she pulled out a dagger from her belt and Athena grinned at her. "I have to make sure you're prepared," Athena said and Xena nodded as she replaced the dagger. "Now are you ready to go?" Athena asked and Xena nodded, "just let me say goodbye to my mom real quick," Xena said and Athena nodded. Xena went back into the inn and hugged her mother, Corrinna and her brothers who were sitting down for breakfast. When she was done she walked back outside picking up Gemini on her way to Argo and placing the wolf in one of the saddle bags. She got up on the horse and Athena looked at her, "when you get there, look for a cave, that's where Annette should be hiding, you'll know the cave when you see it. I won't be there with you but I will be watching, just remember your training Xena and go with you instincts." Athena said and Xena let out a breath and nodded, "I'm ready," she said and Athena nodded then concentrated and both she and Xena were gone.

In the blink of an eye Xena found herself on a hill top and as Athena said she wasn't there; Xena looked around taking in her surroundings. She then looked for some sign of which way to go and then she heard it before she saw a woman running and six men chasing her. "Yah Argo," Xena said and she galloped down the hill and headed towards where the men were running after the woman. Xena rode Argo hard and fast and got there just in time as the woman tripped and fell and one of the men were about to attack when Xena rode up next to him and kicked him hard in the face. She back flipped off of Argo pulling her sword at the same time and when she landed on her feet they attacked her and she fought them back beating every last one of them. Two were on the ground unconscious and the other four were trying to drag them away while tending to their own wounds.

Xena made sure they were leaving then looked around making sure her surroundings were okay before she walked over to Annette, "are you okay?" Xena asked as she reached down and helped her up, "I'm okay thank you," she said as she looked at Xena who nodded. "I'm Annette," she said and Xena nodded as she sheathed her sword, "I know, my name is Xena," Xena said. "Thank you Xena for saving my life," Annette said and Xena nodded. "No problem, is there a safe place where you are staying?" Xena asked and Annette nodded, "yes my goddess provided me with a safe cave and warned me not to leave but I had been cooped up in that cave for a week and I wanted some fresh air. Before I knew it I wandered off and Egan's men found me," she said and Xena nodded. "Well let's get you back to that cave," Xena said as she walked over to Argo then got on to her. "Uh…I don't like horses," Annette said and Xena looked down at her, "Argo won't hurt you, she's gentle."

Xena said then reached down her hand and Annette looked at Argo then at Xena and let out a breath. She took Xena's hand and let out a gasp of surprise at how easily Xena lifted her up onto the horse so that she was sitting in front of Xena. "Wow you're strong," she said and Xena grinned then clicked her tongue while kicking Argo slightly on the sides to get her to move ahead. Once they found the cave Xena made sure Annette was safe inside, "aww you got a puppy," she said as Xena took Gemini out of the saddle bag and placed her on the ground. "She's not a puppy, she's a wolf," Xena said, "now stay here I'll be right back, Gemini will keep you company," Xena said to Annette who nodded. "Stay," Xena told Gemini who looked at Xena but stayed like she was told. Xena went back and covered her tracks making sure they weren't able to be followed.

Once Xena had made sure that she had covered her tracks she went back to the cave where she found the priestess sitting there on a boulder looking at something while Gemini sat by the entrance of the cave keeping guard and basically waiting for Xena to return. The priestess looked up as Xena entered; Xena walked over to her and leaned against the wall where she looked at the priestess and they began talking, basically Xena asking the priestess why this particular warlord was after her. "I suppose he's after me because he thought I was very beautiful and wanted me to marry him. I told him no, I could not, I was one of Athena's most valued priestesses and my duty was to serve her, that and I couldn't imagine marrying such a horrible man. Why would I want to marry a man who goes around killing and stealing from people and the gods only know what else?" She said and Xena grinned at her, "I understand, did you tell him what you just told me word for word?" Xena asked and Annette nodded, "basically and then he went on to threaten the temple, thinking if there were no temple then I would be free to marry him.

Obviously he hadn't heard a word I said after that," Annette said and Xena and nodded. "So he threatened to destroy the temple?" Xena asked and Annette nodded, "yea but I told him it wouldn't do him any good because I would just find another temple where I was needed, plus by destroying Athena's temple he would incur her wrath," Annette said and Xena looked at her giving her a dangerous grin that reached her eyes. "Believe me he has already done that, Athena has sent me to protect you and stop him," Xena said and the priestess looked at her and nodded. "I figured as much, what are you, one of her elite archers?" Annette asked and Xena shook her head, "I'm her Chosen," Xena said and Annette looked at her for a moment then quickly stood and bowed her head.

"Forgive me I didn't know," she said and Xena looked at her in a weird way not use to people bowing to her. "It's fine, why are you bowing?" Xena asked as she walked over to the priestess helping her to stand up straight. The priestess looked into Xena's eyes, "you are Athena's Chosen, I am to show you as much respect as I would show the goddess herself," she said and Xena looked at her. "Well you don't have to do that, just treat me like any other regular person because that's all I am," Xena said and Annette looked at her almost in outrage. "That's not all you are, you are Athena's Chosen, do you know what it means to be her Chosen? To be any gods Chosen?" She asked and Xena just looked at her, "I know it's a big thing," Xena said, "oh its more than that. The goddess has chosen you out of all the people of the world to be her Chosen. She has linked herself with to you, meaning she feels what you feel, she hurts when you hurt.

This is a huge and honorable gift that has been stowed upon you. Priestesses all over would die to be Athena's Chosen as would her elite archers and any other woman warrior who worships Athena." Annette finished and Xena nodded while she looked at her, "okay I see your point now and believe me I know what an honor it is to be chosen by Athena, but that doesn't mean I have to go around shouting it to people." Xena said and Annette nodded, "I suppose you're right," she said and Xena let out a breath. "I'm famished," Annette said and Xena walked over to one of her bags and pulled out some of the food her mother had wrapped up for her. "Here," Xena said as she handed the food to Annette who quickly unwrapped it and found a sandwich there and began to eat.

"I'm going to go and see what I can do about Egan," Xena said as she stood up straight and straightened her gauntlet. "What, you're leaving me again?" Annette asked and Xena looked at her, "you'll be fine as long as you stay here in the cave. I understand that you have been cooped up here for a while but this cave is the only safe place for you. Gemini will keep an eye on things until I get back, I promise I won't be that long," Xena said as she looked at Annette who let out a breath. "Aren't you supposed to be protecting me, how can you do that if you're not here?" The priestess asked and Xena looked at Annette, finding patience deep within her. "As I said before Annette, if you stay here in this cave you will be fine. I need to go and see what kind of man Egan is for myself, so that I can make the next move. I need to see if there is anyway I can bargain with him," Xena said then held up her hand before Annette could say something else.

"You need to trust me," Xena said and Annette let out a breath, "fine, but that savage can't be bargained with. I don't see why you don't just listen to me," she said and Xena kind of tuned her out. "Stay here," Xena said then walked out of the cave before Annette could breathe another word. Xena left the cave and headed to the spot where she last saw the bandits and from there she began to track them. "So, how goes everything?" Athena asked as she appeared next to Xena, falling into step with her as she continued to walk. "Everything is going fine," Xena said, keeping her mind on tracking as she talked to Athena. "And Annette?" Athena asked, "is very annoying," Xena said and Athena chuckled, "yes she can be but she is one of my best priestesses."

Athena said and Xena nodded, "she's right though, trying to negotiate with Egan won't do you any good, he's one of Ares' best warlords." She said, "the God War, interesting," Xena said then stopped and looked at Athena. "What does he want with Annette?" She asked and Athena let out a breath, "Ares is Ares, I don't think he wants Annette personally, it's probably more of a case that Annette has caught Egan's eye and he has decided that he wants her and he will have her no matter the cost." Athena said, "I'll take that answer for now but you know that there's probably more to it than that," Xena said then continued walking once again, keeping her eyes and ears open for anything as she continued to track Egan's men.

"And I'm not really going to negotiate with Egan, I'm just going to see what type of man he is, what are his strengths and weaknesses." Xena said and Athena grinned to herself, "I'll leave you to it then," Athena said then disappeared and Xena shook her head at the goddess. When the tracks started getting more frequent she jumped into the trees and continued tracking from there until she came upon their camp and she sat there in the tree for a bit and watched everything. She found the tent that looked as if it were the leader's tent and she made her way over to it, being as stealthy as a cat. Although she had never seen Egan before she knew who he was the moment she laid eyes on him. He was talking to one of him men and she took that time to jump down from the tree and make her way over to his tent.

He had guards, guarding his tent in the front and the back and there was only one guard at the back so that was the way she chose to go in. she knocked him out, dragging him behind some bushes they pulled her knife and made a long, large slit in his tent so that she could walk through. She looked around his tent, not finding anything useful or important as far as Annette was concerned. When she heard footsteps approaching she hid behind a curtain that was attached to his bed and was very quiet as she listened. "Have you found out who that woman was?" Egan asked his captain, "no my lord," the man said as he looked at Egan who walked over to his throne chair and sat down. "I don't think you will find out who she is, Dudley," he said then let out a breath as he ran his fingers over his forehead.

"Is this priestess really worth all of this trouble?" Dudley asked and Egan looked at him, "I'm sure there are others we can find for you," Dudley said and Egan let out a breath as he looked at his captain. "I want her, she has something that I want, that's all you need to know," Egan said then waved his hand dismissing Dudley who turned and left. Xena waited a minute as she looked over Egan before she made her move, "so what does she have that you want?" Xena asked as she walked from behind the curtain and Egan turned his head sharply and looked at Xena as he stood and pulled his sword. "Who are you?" He asked and Xena looked into his eyes as she walked over to him, "answer my question, what is it that you want from the priestess?"

Xena asked and Egan looked at Xena as he walked up to her, "what does a man want from any woman?" He said and Xena shook her finger at him as she grinned a dangerous grin at him. "Stsk…stsk…stsk, lying is not a good way to start things off," Xena said, "neither is sneaking into my tent. Now I'll ask you one last time, who are you?" He asked as he pointed his sword at Xena and she quickly pulled her sword and knocked his from his hand then pointed her sword at his neck. "No, I'll ask you again, what do you want with the priestess?" Xena asked, her eyes having gone cold and hard as she looked at Egan, who was a stocky, well built man with brown hair and a goatee. He wasn't a bad looking man but she could tell by looking into his eyes that he was a hard and intelligent man.

Egan looked into Xena's eyes and saw that she would have to problem with pushing the sword through his neck, "my interest in her is purely sexual," he said, "and?" Xena asked, seeing that there was something more he wasn't saying. "And, it'll earn me some bonus points with Ares if I take away one of Athena's most prized priestesses and if she so happens to bare my child, a son, then its all the better for me." Egan said and Xena looked at him then lowered her sword, "and the fact that if she bore you a son, he would mostly likely be trained to become Ares' chose and that would hold you in a high esteem." Xena said and Egan grinned at Xena as he raised his eyebrow then walked over to a table and poured himself as glass of wine.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Egan said and Xena looked at him, "but all of this still doesn't explain why you want Annette. Any woman can bare you a child, can bare you a son," Xena said as she began to walk around the tent, slowly making her way over to a table with some documents on them. "True but there's something about her that's attracting me, and when I want something I will have it," he said and Xena nodded. "So what will it take for you to leave her alone?" Xena asked, "are you offering me anything?" He asked as he sat down in his chair and she turned her head and looked at him. "Is there something you want? You're a warlord, so is there so money or jewels you want?" Xena asked and Egan looked at her, "those I can take," he said and Xena nodded as she turned her head back and looked on the table, scattering papers about until she really did find something.

"You know, you haven't answered my question. Who are you?" He asked and Xena grinned as she turned and faced Egan but her hands were behind her as she took the document, being real sneaky about it as she folded it up and placed it in the back of her belt. "Xena, my name is Xena," she said and Egan nodded as he looked at Xena. "An exotic name for a very beautiful woman," he said as he looked over Xena's body and she grinned at him as she walked over to him. "I know what you're thinking," she said and he looked at her, "oh really?" He asked and Xena nodded as she walked up to him until she was standing face to face with him. "Well I'm thinking that I could maybe be persuaded to leave Annette alone," he said, "if?" Xena asked as she ran her hand over his chest, "if you would consider taking her place," he said and Xena grinned as she kneed him in his stomach unexpectedly then punched him hard so that he fell to the floor.

"Not in this lifetime," she said then quickly left through the same slit she came through and jumped up into the tree, looking on as Egan's men came when he called for them and his camp was in an uproar as they began looking for Xena. She grinned as she looked down at the men scattering like ants, she made her way through the trees until she felt that she was clear of Egan's men. She jumped down from the tree and quickly made her way back to the cave making sure her tracks were untraceable. When she got to the cave, Gemini of course greeted her and she found Annette pacing back and forth like a caged animal. Annette looked up just as Xena walked in and she let out a breath as she walked over to Xena, "well it's about time, I thought he had killed you."

She said, "ye of little faith," Xena said as she let out a breath and sat down on a boulder, pulling the piece of parchment from her belt that she had taken from Egan's tent. "So, what did you find out?" Annette asked, "he wants you for sex," Xena said and Annette let out a breath as she rolled her eyes. "I knew that already," she said then let out a breath. "Look, I have a life to get back to, a temple to run, so can you turn him in to the appropriate authorities or whatever it is that Athena wants you to do, so that I can leave this cave?" Annette asked and Xena looked at her, "are you finished?" Xena asked and Annette folded her arms across her chest, "for the moment," she said and Xena nodded. "As I was saying, he wants you for sex, he wants you to bare him a child, preferably a son," Xena said then unfolded the parchment in her hands.

"But why? Why me? There are other women out there, I'm sure one he can find that actually likes him, so why has he chosen me?" Annette asked and Xena held up the parchment, "because of this," she said. "What is that?" Annette asked, "the gods have many prophecies. Egan is one of Ares' best warlords, of course he wants to know how he can be in Ares' great favor for the rest of his life. The answer would be to provide Ares with a Chosen," Xena said. "And?" Annette asked, "and he was some how able to his hands on a prophecy that belongs to Ares about a Chosen he would have. This is that prophecy and it says that a Chosen of Ares would be born of a most beloved priestess of Athena."

"That can be a lot of priestesses, I'm not the only one favored by Athena," Annette said and Xena looked at her, "for whatever reason, he has decided to go with you. He's probably rationalized it in his mind, for reasons that he has chosen you. Nothing will persuade him to leave you alone," Xena said, "well I told you that," Annette said and Xena ignored her comment. "Believe it or not Annette, I do know what I'm doing," Xena said. "It won't take long to deal with this problem," Xena said and Annette nodded, "good," she said then went and sat down on a stone bench. "I'm not usually like this," Annette said and Xena looked at her. "It's understandable; your life has been turned upside down because some warlord wants to fulfill a personal and creepy fantasy of his."

Xena said and Annette grinned at that, "I haven't said it and I know my actions don't show it but thank you for helping me," Annette said and Xena grinned at her, "you're welcome," she said and Annette grinned at Xena. "So what's your plan?" She asked, "I'm going to beat Egan at his own game," Xena said and Annette hunched her shoulders. "Whatever that means, I know you warriors have your own code or whatever," she said and Xena grinned at that. "Something like that," she said then walked over to Annette. "This will take a couple of days but what I need from you is to trust me. Trust that I am here to protect you and help you and everything that I do is in your best interest," Xena said and Annette let out a breath as she nodded. "Okay," she said and Xena looked at her.

"So, you're clear that you need to stay here, I can't protect you if you're running around the country side and I can't deal with Egan if I'm running after you around the country side," Xena said and Annette nodded. "Okay, I get it," she said and Xena looked at Annette, "I want to hear the words its clear," Xena said and Annette let out a breath as she looked at Xena. "Its clear, I won't leave this cave until you have dealt with Egan," she said and Xena looked into her eyes for a minute before she nodded her head in acceptance that Annette understood how important it was for her to stay in the cave a while longer. "You look tired, why don't you get some rest," Xena suggested to Annette who nodded as she made her way over to the pallet she had been sleeping on for the past week.

"I am a little tired," she said as she sat down then laid down. Xena walked back over to the boulder she had been previously sitting on. She leaned back against the wall, bringing one of her legs up. She pulled her knife from her boot and began to fiddle with it as she thought about the best possible way to deal with Egan. She looked over at Annette who was more tired than she thought because she was already asleep. As Xena sat there and thought about the situation and while later she came up with the best plan which was to lower Egan's defenses. She needed to get rid of the majority of his men, she knew there was a town near by and that they would probably go and cause problems there so she knew that was the next place for her to go.

"Gemini," Xena called to the wolf, who was sniffing around in curiosity but when she heard her mistress' call she ran happily over to Xena. "Stay and protect," she said as she rubbed behind her ears and Gemini looked into her eyes with understanding then went over to Annette and laid down next to her. Xena stood and placed her sword back on before she left the cave and saddled Argo then got on and rode into town. The town was pretty impressive compared to most and Xena made her way over to the local tavern. She got off of Argo and hitched her to a hitching post in front of the tavern then walked in. The tavern was pretty full and conversation didn't stop when she walked in but all eyes did go to her as she made her way over to the bar and sat down.

"Port," Xena said and the bartender nodded, "two dinar," he said and Xena pulled out two dinars and handed them to him and he pushed the mug of port towards her. "What brings you here to Acerson?" The man asked and Xena looked at him, "just passing through," she said and he nodded. "Are you part of Egan's group?" He asked and Xena shook her head, "whose Egan?" She asked and the bartender looked at her, "he's the local warlord around here. Every business here pays him protection money, the only protection we need is from him." He said and Xena nodded as she took a small gulp port and was about to say something when a drunk man walked up behind her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "How's about you and me get to know each other better," he said and Xena's response to that was to raise her fist and him in straight in his face, without a thought.

"Do you guys have a jail around here?" Xena asked and the bartender looked at the man on the floor then at Xena. "Yea, we have a jail but any law that will be taken will be done at Loxia, it's the closest kingdom near by." He said and Xena thought about that, "and they handle things pretty well?" Xena asked and the man nodded, "yea, King Garius is a fair and just King, its just that he doesn't really have the men to cover every area that he rules, especially out here where there's so much land." He said and Xena nodded, "do you send word when you have someone for them to pick up?" Xena asked and he nodded, "the town elder sends word to the castle and in two days at the most, the king's guards come to pick up the prisoner or prisoners." He said and Xena nodded then took a deep gulp of port, "thanks for the information," she said and the man nodded as he watched her walk away.

Just as she was about to leave the tavern, a group of Egan's men came into the tavern and they didn't even wait until they sat down to start causing trouble. "Mead," the one in charge yelled as he and his men grabbed women that didn't want to be grabbed while the barkeep rushed and poured them all mugs of mead. One guy tried to stand up to them when it was his girlfriend that was grabbed but the quickly punched him away. Xena didn't even think about it as she went over to them, "why don't you try beating on someone your own size," she said and one of the men looked at her. "Disrespectful winch," he said as he went to slap her but she ducked and punched him in his stomach then backhanded and he landed on the floor. "Why you," another guy said and he tried to hit Xena as well but just like his friend before him, he was knocked to the ground.

"Get her," the one in charge said and Xena grinned a dangerous grin as she began to fight them all. In less than ten minutes she had them all on the ground unconscious. "About that jail we talked about earlier," Xena said to the barkeep who grinned at her. They got a couple of hard workers to drag the men to the jail, where they threw them into the cell and locked them up, thankfully they were all still unconscious or being to come around but not that much. "We don't know how to thank you," an elderly man said as he walked up to Xena who was looking at the men in the cell. "Are you the town elder?" She asked and he nodded, "my name is Silas," he said. "It's nice to meet you Silas, you have to send a message to King Garius to let him know that you have these men in custody, correct?" Xena asked and he nodded, "I do," he said.

"Well, when you send the message, tell him that you have Egan's entire band of goons as well as Egan himself," Xena said. "But we don't have Egan or him men, we have a handful of Egan's men when he's got a lot more back at his camp." Silas said and Xena grinned at him, "but in a couple of days, you will have Silas and his men will gladly surrender to King Garius." She said and Silas looked at her as if she were crazy, "trust me," she said as she placed her hand on his shoulder and he looked into her eyes and nodded, feeling as if he could indeed trust her. Once that was taken care of she headed back to the cave where she found Annette still there, awake and walking around talking to herself.

"Are you okay?" Xena asked and Annette spun around and looked at her, "yea, I'm fine, where did you go?" She asked, "I went into town," Xena said as she took off her sword. "Do you always talk to yourself?" Xena asked Annette, "only since I've been here in this cave, I don't have anyone to talk to so…" she said and Xena nodded her head then went into her bag and pulled out something to eat. "What did you go into town for?" Annette asked, "find out some things about Egan and I got the chance to put some of his goons in the local town jail. By tomorrow evening I expect to have Egan and the rest of his men in jail as well," Xena said. "Well how are you going to do that?" Annette asked, "by challenging Egan to a fight to the death. If I win, I gain the right to his army," Xena said and Annette looked at her.

"And if you loose?" Annette asked, "well I guess I'll be dead and Athena will take care of you," Xena said. "That's not funny," Annette said. "Do you see me laughing?" Xena asked Annette as she looked at her and the priestess looked back at her, "well, do you're going to win? How good are you at fighting?" Annette asked and Xena looked at her, "I'm pretty good, Athena has trained me herself and I have confidence that my skill is as great as his if not better, so everything should be fine," Xena said and Annette let out a breath. "Should be," she said, "if I had a dinar for ever time someone said should be about something, I would be rich," Annette said and Xena stood and approached her.

She stood in front of Annette and placed her hand on her shoulder, "everything will be fine, we both have too much to live for," she said and Annette looked into Xena's eyes and found warmth and caring there. "You're not at all what I imagined Athena's chosen to be like," she said and Xena grinned as she walked back over to the boulder she was sitting on. "You thought her chosen would be a hard, still warrior," Xena said and Annette hunched her shoulders. "I guess," she said and Xena looked at her, "Athena isn't that way so she wouldn't choose a warrior to represent her who is that way," Xena said and Annette nodded. "You're right; the goddess is warm, caring and gentle," Annette said and Xena looked at her for a moment before Annette cleared her throat.

"But yea you're right, I don't know what I was thinking," Annette said as she sat down on her pallet and brought her knees up to her chest where she hugged them. "I just want my life to get back to normal," she said and Xena nodded, "it's understandable and believe me when I say I'm trying my hardest to make that happen." Xena said and Annette nodded the just sat there and let her thoughts go through her mind and Xena sat there and ate and when she was finished her thoughts consumed her as well. In the beginning she mostly thought about what would go down with Egan and his men but later on, her thought began to drift towards Ulysses and how much she missed him. Her hand went up to the half of her necklace and she closed her eyes as she could feel his presence.

"It's a beautiful a necklace," Annette said, brining Xena out of her wonderful bliss. "What?" Xena asked, "I said it's a beautiful necklace," Annette said, "oh, thank you," Xena said as she looked down at it. "Someone very dear, must have given it to you," she said and Xena nodded and grinned as she thought about Ulysses, "yes, someone very dear to me did give me this necklace," she said and Annette nodded. "Are you in love with him?" She asked Xena after a couple of minutes of silence and Xena looked at Annette, "very," she said after a minute and Annette nodded. "That's good," she said as she looked down, "just make sure that he loves you just the same," she said. "It's hard when you've given someone your heart only to find that they haven't given theirs to you.

You can be so stupid and so naïve when it comes to love, you can be so blind to the truth that's right there in front of you." Annette said and Xena looked at her as she leaned back against the wall and she brought her leg up so that her arm was resting on her knee. "It sounds like you're speaking from experience," Xena said and Annette looked at her, giving her a small, sad grin as she hunched her shoulders. Xena looked at the priestess as she sat there and after a couple of minutes she asked the question that was on her mind. "Who was he?" Xena asked and Annette looked down and found a rock to toy with. "She, was a warrior," Annette said, "or is a warrior, she's not dead, far from it," Annette said then let out a breath. "She was everything and more I had imagined and she just stole my heart," Annette said as she looked up at Xena.

"I found myself telling her everything about myself, about my dreams and hopes. We would talk for hours on end," Annette said then looked down once again. "She uh…she asked me to give myself to her and I did…" Annette said as she nodded her head. "I did and it was everything I could have ever dreamed of. She was gentle with me and caring, warm and loving," Annette said. "So what happened?" Xena asked and Annette hunched her shoulders, "we two entirely different people I suppose, but I was under the impression that it didn't matter who we were, that our love should have been enough. I guess I made the mistake and thought that she was in love with me," Annette said then let out a breath and hunched her shoulders.

"I expected too much I suppose," she said and Xena shook her head as she looked at Annette. "No, you didn't expect too much, you expected what you had given to be given in return," Xena said and Annette grinned as she looked at Xena. "From her, it was too much to be expected," Annette said and Xena let out a breath as she lowered her leg. "It's never too much to expect to be loved in return," Xena said then let out a breath and she looked at Annette who laid down and turned on her side, facing the wall. _'It's never too much to expect to be loved in return'_ Xena thought to herself. The rest of the day passed by fairly quickly and Xena and Annette got to know each other a little better.

Xena thought this mission was fairly easy, when day break came she went to the area around Egan's camp where she drew some men out and away from the camp into a trap where she captured them all. All morning, bit by bit, she captured five to ten of Egan's men in her clever traps until Egan found himself left only with forty men and by then he was raving around the camp. "What kind of warriors are you to let your fellow comrades be captured?" He yelled to his men, "not very good warrior I would say," Xena said as she leaned against a tree with her arms folded and Egan spun around and looked at her. "You, you did this?" He said and Xena pointed at herself, "me?" She asked, "I must say that I'm impressed that you think that I can pull off such a feat as getting rid of half of your army," Xena said and Egan let out a frustrated breath as he pulled his sword.

"What is it that you want?" He asked and Xena looked at him as she walked up to him, "your army," she said and Egan laughed as did some of his men. "You? A woman? Lead my army?" He asked then laughed some more, "oh that was good, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time," he said and Xena grinned as she nodded. "Is the great Egan afraid that I can do a better job at leading his men than he is doing now," Xena shouted so that everyone could hear her. "If I were in control of this army, none of you would be slowly disappearing," she said then turned and looked at Egan. "I challenge you to a fight to the death," she said and Egan looked at her trying to figure out what she was up to. "You know the rules," she said, "don't speak to me about the rules of war," he said, his brown eyes hard like the bark of a tree.

"Choose the weapons and if you loose your army is mine," Xena said and Egan looked at her. "As I said before, you're a woman," Egan said. "But I can't dismiss a challenge that has been given to me, despite who gave the challenge," Egan said and his men surrounded them in a huge circle they created with their bodies. "What will be your weapon of choice?" Xena asked, "swords," Egan said and Xena grinned as she pulled her sword. "I doubt this will be long but you all know the code of war, if she should win, which I highly doubt," he said as he looked at Xena. "Then this army is hers but when you win, I won't kill you, I'll just make you mine," he said and Xena grinned a dangerous grin at him as she prepared and focused her mind on the task at hand. They began to circle each other and Egan was the one to make the first move and Xena counteracted the move then put in a few of her own.

Egan was surprised at how hard her hits were and how good she was. He quickly saw that he had to pay attention and put in everything he had or she would quickly take it from him. Egan was quickly getting frustrate that this woman was beating him and every move he tried on her she came back harder and faster. Twenty minutes later she kicked his sword out of his hand, then punched him hard in his face but she kicked him in his stomach and finally dealt the last blow, which was a round house kick to his face. When he was on the ground Xena was on him before he could even move, the sharp end of her sword, pressing hard into his neck, actually to the point where she drew a drop of blood but it was enough for him to see that she was serious and that if he moved she would likely kill him without a thought.

"I do believe I've won," she said, "you haven't killed me so you haven't won," he said and Xena pressed the sword deeper into his flesh and he went as still and stiff as a board. "You want me to kill you?" She asked and Egan looked at him, "I am a warrior, if you're going to take my army I will be dead before you do so," he said and Xena looked into his eyes. "I have other plans for you," she said then turned and looked at two men, "get some rope and bind his hands," Xena said and they looked at him. "Do I need to kill one of you before you all listen?" She shouted and they began to murmur amongst themselves as they shook their heads, "then do as I say or trust me, I won't hesitate to lessen the problem by lessening the men here," she said and from that point all no one question what was asked of them to do, they just did it because they wanted to stay alive.

Once Egan was bound and gagged Xena went into his tent and looked around for anything else she wanted to know about Egan. "Is there anything else you want us to do?" Dudley asked and Xena looked up at him, "pack up the camp, we're leaving," Xena said, "but…" Dudley was about to say but one look from Xena and he quickly shut up. "It will be done," he said then left the tent and spread the word to pack up because they were leaving. In two hours they were ready to go and Xena burned everything in Egan's tent including the tent itself. Once she was ready to go, she whistles for Argo who came trotting into what was left of the camp. She got onto Argo, "we ride to Loxia, your future's begin there," she shouted to them and they all got onto their horses and followed Xena out of the camp and they rode hard towards Loxia.

They only stopped at night, for rest and to basically rest the horses. That night at the camp fire she asked the men questions, such as what made them come and join Egan's army. "Revenge," one said and most of them nodded. "To get back at those who had hurt us, who hurt our families," another said and Xena nodded. "But have you realized that in doing so, you have become the very thing that you despise?" Xena asked and the camp became so quiet then that the only thing that could be heard was the music of the mosquitoes. "And what, you're here to make it better, to help them redeem themselves?" Egan asked since he was no longer gagged since he had to eat and drink.

Xena looked at him and shook her head then looked back at the men who looked at her for an answer, "I can't redeem you, only you can redeem yourselves," she said. "I understand why you joined Egan in the beginning but you went further than any of you would have thought. You've hurt people, you've hurt families and all in the name of revenge," Xena said as she looked out at them, "ask yourselves, was it worth it? Have you sated your lust for revenge?" Xena asked then stood and left them there to think about it. "Don't listen to her, you've all lead a great life," Egan said and one of the men leaned over and replaced the gag and they continued to sit there and think about what Xena had said to them.

When morning came they continued to ride towards Loxia and once they were there Xena had the men wait in the court yard. "I demand an audience with your King," she said to the guards standing guard at the door. "Who is asking for this audience?" The captain of the guard asked, "Xena of Amphipolis, Chosen of Athena," she said and the guard looked into her eyes. "Right this way," he said and Xena followed him into the castle and to the throne room, "wait here," he said then left the room and Xena looked around until the doors opened and King Garius walked in and two guards walked in with him and two more closed the doors and stood outside the room.

"You asked to speak with me?" He asked and Xena nodded, "the warlord Egan, has been a huge problem for some of your provinces," Xena said and Garius nodded. "Yes but I unfortunately don't have the man power to deal with him as of yet," Garius said and Xena nodded. "Go look out of the window," Xena said and he looked at her before he walked over to his huge window and looked down into the court yard where he saw Egan tied up and gagged. "How did you?" He asked as he turned and looked at Xena, "it was my pleasure to get rid of such a nuisance," Xena said and Garius looked at her as he walked back over to her. "What do you want of me?" He asked and Xena let out a breath, "some of Egan's men are actually good men, provided that they get the chance to prove it.

I'm sure you'll see the ones who want the chance and be able to tell them apart from the ones who want to continue stealing, bullying and killing." She said, "and you want me to…?" He asked, "I realize that they all have committed numerous crimes, some which are punishable by death but I'm asking you to take them into indentured servitude." Xena said and Garius looked at her, "go on," he said as he sat down in a chair. "Judge them all separately by the crimes they have committed and their sentence is to be however many years you choose for them to be in indentured servitude. Five to ten years at the most, helping out around the kingdom, doing what needs to be done and what you don't have the hands to do.

And at the end of their contract, they'll in a way be redeemed and be able to rejoin the community," Xena said and Garius sat there and thought about that. "And what of the ones who want to continue on the wrong path?" He asked, "then sentence them and imprison them according to their offenses." Xena said, "of course it won't be easy, they'll all have to be watched carefully. You can give Egan the option but I doubt he will take it or if he does he'll find a way to turn it to his advantage and to your disadvantage," Xena said and Garius nodded his head. "You know I have the right to imprison them all, I don't have to give them this chance," he said and Xena nodded. "True but I heard that you were a fair and just King, there are enough men imprisoned, we should try and help instead of hinder. We shouldn't just lock them up and throw away the key, some of them actually need help in changing because they want to change.

And others…?" Xena said then hunched her shoulders, "some, I have to admit are lost causes," Xena said and Garius nodded his head. "I think what you've proposed is a good idea, I'm not to sure about it but something's telling me I should try it." He said and Xena grinned then tilted her head in respect before she turned and headed towards the door. "Oh and in various places around Egan's camp are about seven groups tied up," Xena said. "Wait," Garius said as he walked over to the door and Xena turned and looked at him, "you're a good person, a good warrior, I could use your help from time to time." He said and Xena grinned at him, "my services aren't exactly up for the highest bidder, however, if you should ever really need my help again, I will know it and I will be here," she said then winked at him before she left the room closing the door behind her.

Xena made her way out of the castle and back to the court yard where all the men looked up as she walked over to them. "Listen up," she yelled to them and they looked at her, "you've all made your choices in life and most of them have not been good," she said. "But if you want to change your life for the better, then now is the time," she said then looked at King Garius who walked out of the castle. "I have talked with King Garius and he has agreed to try you all against your crimes and your punishment will not be time in jail," she said, "then what will it be?" Douglas asked and she looked at him then at all of them, "indentured servitude," she said and they all began to murmur and there were some cries of protest.

"Look, I know some of you wish you could go back and undo what has been done but the fact is you can't. But you can begin to try and make up for all the lives you have destroyed and the trouble you've caused. This isn't bad, you'll just be helping around where ever you're needed, for however long your contract states and once that time is up, you'll be free to live your lives the way you want to live them, hopefully better than you live them now," Xena said and they looked at her then began to talk amongst themselves. "What if we don't want this? We could just leave right now," two of the men hollered, "no, you wouldn't be able to just leave, I would make sure of that as would King Garius' soldiers," Xena said. "And you can not choose this but you're other option will probably be spending the rest of your lives in jail."

She said and they all talked amongst themselves about it, "make your decisions now," she said and she watched as they looked around each other. Dudley walked up to Xena and looked into her eyes, "I'm not too proud of the man I've become but if you were in my place, would you choose this option?" He asked and Xena nodded, "yes I would, the fact that Garius is doing this, says a lot about the man he is. He didn't have to take my suggestion, he could have just locked you all up but he has chosen to help you rather than get rid of you." She said and Dudley looked at her, looked at Garius then looked down as he warred with himself on what choice to make.

In the end he pulled his sword and walked over to King Garius and looked into his eyes as he dropped his sword in front of his feet in surrender. "You've made the right choice," Garius said and Dudley continued to look into his eyes as guards came and placed shackles on his wrists before they lead him away. Once Dudley had surrendered, the others began to follow suit and Xena nodded to Garius before she got on Argo, "oh and if you haven't gotten the message by now, there are some of Egan's men in Acerson locked up in the jail," Xena said and with that she left the Kingdom. Once she was outside of the kingdom, she headed back towards the cave, but she wouldn't make it by night fall so when the sun began setting, she found a suitable place to camp.

She made a fire, then tended to Argo and when she was finished she sat down on the ground and ate some of what her mother had packed for her. "I was wonder when you were going to pop up," Xena said as she stared into the fire and Athena appeared on the other side of the fire. "That was…unusual what you did for Egan's men but I liked it," Athena said and Xena nodded. "Everyone deserves a second chance, they're not all lost causes," Xena said and Athena nodded as she placed her hands over the fire as though she were warming them. "Since the problem with Egan is settled, I'll be taking her back to the temple but she wanted to say goodbye to you before I did, it seems that she's gotten quite attached to you," Athena said.

"I'll be careful not to break her heart," Xena said as she looked at Athena who looked at her, "don't do it, don't judge me," Athena said and Xena shook her head as she stood. "You broke her heart Athena," Xena said and Athena let out a breath as she looked at Xena, "this is a situation you know nothing about." Athena said, "I know she gave you her heart and when you asked, she gave herself to you," Xena said and Athena looked at her. "You lead her on and let her fall in love with you," Xena said, "I love all of my priestess," Athena said, "but do you have sex with them all? Do you go around seducing them until they fall in love with you and after you've gotten what you want, you just throw them away?"

"No, I don't sleep with them all," Athena said, "then what happened?" Xena asked, "ENOUGH," Athena shouted to Xena. "I don't have to explain myself to you nor will I," Athena said to Xena as she walked up to her and Xena met her half way. "Was it your plan to sleep with me?" Xena asked, "never," Athena said and Xena looked into her eyes. "You mouth says one thing but your eyes say another," Xena said then turned her back to the goddess but Athena only appeared in front of her. "I love all of my priestesses but there have only been a handful that I have asked them to give themselves to me. There are things that you can't possibly understand Xena but I would never breech that boundary with you, never," Athena said and Xena looked into her eyes and saw that Athena really meant that.

"You hurt her deeply," Xena said and Athena nodded, "I know and I will always regret how much pain I've put her through but Annette has worked through it and she has come out stronger. Yes, she gave me her heart, she gave me her trust and her body and I haven't taken either of those lightly but she understands what happened had to happen." Athena said and Xena looked at the goddess then shook her head as she sat back down. "All of you gods have a category in which you live by, it may be your very essence but you're all the same in one way and that way is, you take what you want, no matter the price, as long as it's not hurting you, you don't care." Xena said as she looked up at Athena who looked at her before she disappeared and Xena let out a breath as she poked the fire with a stick.

She sat there and thought about that and thought about some other things, even when she laid down on her bedroll, she continued to think until she dosed off. When first light came, she rode back to the cave and when she got near by she saw Annette walking about with Gemini walking next to her and when she spotted Xena she grinned as she waved her hand and Xena grinned as she hopped down off of Argo and walked over to Annette. "Since you're out and about, I guess Athena told you the great news," Xena said and Annette nodded then hugged Xena. "Yes and thank you so much," she said and Xena grinned, "you are most welcomed," she said then pulled back.

"Athena should be coming in a little bit to take you back to your temple," Xena said and Annette nodded, "yea, she would have taken me back last night except I told her I wanted to say goodbye to you," she said and Xena nodded. "Yea, Athena and I had a little chat last night," Xena said. "I'm sorry that she broke your heart," Xena said and Annette stopped cold and turned and looked at Xena. "How did you know?" She asked and Xena grinned, "I just knew," she said and Annette nodded. "Well, what's done is done, it can't be undone so I no longer worry about it. Yes it does hurt, it hurts a lot but I've come out stronger for it and I guess in a way it has made me a stronger and better person, woman and priestess, to better serve Athena."

Annette said and Xena nodded, "well if you're okay about it, I really can't be mad at her about it. I just don't understand some of the things gods do," Xena said as she shook her head and Annette grinned as she looked up at the clear blue sky. "Who really understands why they do what they do but over the ions, we have come to accept them for who they are." She said and Xena thought about that as they continued to have for the cave. Once they were there they said their goodbyes once again and then Athena appeared, "have your things ready, I'll be right back to take you back to Amphipolis," Athena said to Xena then disappeared with Annette. Xena shook her head then headed into the cave to make sure she hadn't forgot anything and when she was ready she walked outside with Gemini following her.

She played with her for a while until Athena appeared ten minutes later, "are you ready?" Athena asked and Xena looked at the goddess and nodded then picked Gemini up before she headed over to Argo. "Yea I'm ready," Xena said and Athena nodded and before Xena could say or doing anything else, they were gone in the blink of an eye and just as quickly as they disappeared, they reappeared in the back yard of Cyrene's Inn. "Athena," Xena called when the goddess was about to leave, "I'm sorry for judging you," she said and Athena looked into her eyes and nodded. "Perhaps one day you will explain things to me," Xena said. "In due time," Athena said then disappeared and Xena let out a breath, "come on girl, lets go get you settled in," Xena said as she lead Argo to the stables where she unsaddled her then gave her food and water before she brushed her down.

"You did good on our first mission girl," Xena said as she patted Argo's neck and Argo butted her head into Xena's stomach and Xena grinned as she rubbed behind Argo's ears. "I'll see you later," Xena said then left the stables with her bags in her hands and Gemini hot on her heels. "Xena, you're back," her mother said as she walked in through the back door to the kitchen and Xena grinned. "Yes, I wasn't a real serious problem," she said as she walked over to her mother and placed a kiss on her cheek. "So everything went well?" Cyrene asked and Xena nodded, "yea, everything went pretty smoothly," she said then walked over to the table and picked up a cookie. "You're going to ruin your appetite," Cyrene told her daughter and Xena shook her head.

"I doubt it, I've missed your hot cooking," Xena said and Cyrene grinned. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up and relax for a while, that is if you don't need my help with anything," Xena said. "No, we're all covered, go take a nice hot bath and relax." Cyrene said and Xena nodded and grabbed her bags once again and headed down the stairs to her room. When she walked into her room she let out a breath as she placed her bags by the bed and Gemini went over to her favorite spot, which was on the rug by the fireplace. Xena took off all of her clothes until she was naked, then wrapped her body in a towel and headed to the bathing room.

She prepared a hot bath for herself, moaning as she eased her body into the soothing water which was beginning to turn her muscles to mush. "Mmmm," Xena moaned as she dunked her head under water before she leaned back against the tub. She sat there and soaked until the water was luke warm and that's when she washed her hair then bathed her body. When she was done she got out and dried off then headed back to her room, where she oiled her body down then went into her drawer and pulled out the shirt that Ulysses left, which she refused to wash because it smelled just like him and it was a comfort to Xena. Once she had the shirt and her underwear on, she tended to her hair, drying it with the towel before she added oil to it and brushed the tangles out of it.

When she was finished she braided her hair into one large braid then let out a breath as she walked over to her bed and began to un pack the bags, all except for one and that was the one Corrinna had given her which held her medicinal herbs and bandages. Once everything was put up she laid down on the bed and let out a breath as she stared up at the ceiling for a minute. She found that her eyes began to get heavy, so she turned on her side and pulled the blanket that she kept at the foot of the bed, up over her body and in ten minutes she was asleep and she dreamt wonderful dreams of Ulysses. With Xena back at home, she went back to her regular routine of exercising and training as well as helping her mother out around the Inn while her brothers tended to the fields.

Before Xena knew it, days passed by before her very eyes as if it were happening at the blink of an eye. However, only some days passed that quickly, while other days passed by so slowly, it was a slow and painful torture for Xena. Those days turned into weeks and those weeks turned into a month and before Xena knew it, a month had passed by and then another and all she knew was that she was missing Ulysses terribly but it did help that Athena often had missions for her and when she was at home, she relaxed for about a day or two before she helped her mother and her brothers out. She found that if she worked hard enough, she exhausted herself and it made it a lot easier for her to go to sleep at night but those times when she wasn't exhausted, she often lay there for hours and hours thinking about Ulysses, wondering what he was doing and if he was okay. It had been a couple of weeks since she last got a message from him and sent hers out.

She knew from Ulysses' messages that Ithaca was at war with a neighboring kingdom and in the beginning it was just a few skirmishes but it was quickly becoming more. In a matter of a couple of weeks, they had gone from small skirmishes to all out war and Xena was worried about Ulysses. She knew he was capable of protecting himself and others but she was in love with him and she just hoped he would be careful and realize how much she loved him, how much she needed him. There was one time when she really needed him, she had been on a mission for about a week and so far this was her toughest mission.

She had to save an entire village from a warlord who was bent on destroying the village because they wouldn't pay him protection money. So Athena sent her there to protect them but she had no help, so she had to train the villagers on how to fight in such a short time. When the time came to fight they did and they were getting wounded, however the leader whose name was Cortese was a greater fighter and commander. He came after Xena and they started fighting. For Xena the fighting was getting intense but she wasn't worried about it, especially since she was taught by the best and her body began to just flow with everything.

She knew Cortese would kill her given the chance and if she died then there would be no hope for these people. Still she had never killed before and she wasn't going to start now, so she did her best to disarm him and when she had him on the ground he looked into her eyes and surrendered. She looked back at him knowing she couldn't trust him so she kept her eyes on him while she called over two of the strongest villagers. They came over and picked Cortese up from the ground and as soon as he was up on his feet, he pushed one away hard and punched the other guy and took that moment and pulled a hidden dagger from his arm band and went after Xena. By then she had her back turned and there were yells for her to watch out but she didn't need them, she felt him long before he could even get close to her.

Her instincts kicked in and when she turned around, she ran him through with her sword and looked into his eyes as he looked into hers and grinned. "Your first kill," he said as blood ran from his mouth and she looked at him then pulled her sword free and dropped it to the ground. "Help," she cried as Cortese fell to the ground and she went with him still yelling for someone to help her. "Xena you can't help him but you can help everyone else," Athena said as she appeared next to her chosen and Xena looked at her. "You can heal him," Xena said and Athena looked at her.

"I can't, this is how it's supposed to be," Athena said and Xena stood and looked into Athena's eyes where Athena could see the turmoil in Xena's eyes. "You need to help the rest of these people Xena," Athena said and Xena looked at her then around her at the people who were still fighting Cortese's men. Xena let out a breath and went to help them all and when it was all over she was just numb. Xena helped out the villagers since she was great in healing she helped all those who were hurt and anything else she could do before she left she did.

Two and a half weeks later she returned home and she was quiet and withdrawn as she thought about her first kill. She talked to no one about it not even Lyceus who begged her to tell him or anyone what was wrong. Instead she kept to herself and at night she cried for Ulysses wishing her were here to comfort her. A week after that, she started to get back to normal and trained by herself not really wanting to talk to Athena, somewhat mad a the goddess for putting her in a situation where she had to take someone's life. "Are you ready to talk to me now?" Athena asked Xena as she appeared by her in Xena's room and Xena turned and looked at her. "No," Xena said and Athena looked into the eyes of her chosen, "I know you're hurting Xena," she said and Xena looked at her. "Do you?" She asked in a sarcastic way then turned and continued picking up in her room.

"He was your first kill and I know you didn't want to kill him, you just wanted to stop him from hurting those people and anyone else he would hurt." Athena said and Xena shook her head, "he was scum," Xena said and Athena looked at her, "and it's alright that you feel for killing him. I would be worried if you didn't feel anything at all," Athena said and Xena closed her eyes and let out a breath as she turned and looked at Athena. "I never wanted to take someone's life, I just wanted to protect and help people," Xena said and Athena looked into her eyes and nodded as she took a couple of steps forward. "I know and to tell you the truth I never wanted you to kill but sadly doing what you want to do, you had to know that it would eventually come to it." Athena said and Xena looked down for a minute as Athena continued to speak to her.

"Xena you are my chosen and there is so much in the world that you have yet to experience but I believe you already know that to survive, sometimes you will have to take a life maybe more than one. I don't encourage you to kill, in fact if you can find a way to solve a problem without violence then I'm all for it. Wisdom before weapons," Athena said and Xena looked into her eyes and nodded. "I understand, I may not always like it but I understand," Xena said and Athena looked into her eyes. "Do you? Xena being my chosen means more than you know right now, but there will come a time when you will have to take a life. Tell me now if you will be able to handle it. If you can't I'll understand, there are only a handful that are meant for this," Athena said and Xena looked into her goddess' eyes. "No I am meant for this, there is a reason that you chose me and I swear to you I will live up to the title you have bestowed upon me.

You're right I don't fully know what it means to be you're chosen yet and there is a lot I haven't experienced in this world but there is one thing that I do know and that's the greater good. To help and save people whenever and however I can, and that's what I'll do." Xena said then let out a breath, "I'll never be okay with taking someone's life but I'll be able to deal with it by knowing I've saved a lot of lives." Xena said and Athena looked at Xena then brought her hand up and placed a lock of hair behind Xena's ear, "you continue to surprise even me." Athena said then let out a breath and lowered her hand, "I'm giving you some time off, I think you need it but don't worry you'll be back to work sooner than you know." Athena said and Xena looked at her and nodded then let out a breath as she sat down on her bed, "I miss him," Xena said and Athena looked at her. "I know but be strong Xena and everything will be alright," Athena said, "rest and relax, I'll see you later," Athena said and Xena nodded.

"Thank you Athena," Xena said and Athena looked at her, "for what?" Athena asked and Xena looked at her, "for helping me deal and understand everything." Xena said and Athena grinned at her, "you already understood Xena, you just needed someone to show you." Athena said then grinned as she disappeared and Xena grinned as she shook her head then laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as she thought about what Athena said and then she thought of more pleasant things like Ulysses. She thought about the time she spent with Ulysses, the things they did and the fun they had. She thought about the great love that they made and how he always held her in his arms afterwards and there were time when he would lay his head on her breast or stomach, holding her tight as she ran her fingers through his hair; sometimes they talked for hours on end and other times they laid there in silence and eventually dosed off to sleep in each other's loving embrace.

Xena let out a breath as she rolled on her side pulling her pillow closer to her as she continued to think about Ulysses and all the good times they had. She looked at Gemini who hopped onto the bed since she was big enough now though sometimes she struggled. Xena grinned as the cub walked up by her stomach and Xena scratched behind her ears and stroked her coat before Gemini laid down snuggling against Xena. Xena grinned and continued to stroke Gemini as she continued to think until she started dosing off. As Xena slept she started dreaming of Ulysses and her hand instantly came up to the half of her necklace that she wore and her finger rubbed the stone as she felt Ulysses presence.

**Continued In**

**Chapter Eight: The War with Paxos and **

**the Connection of Soulmates**


	8. Chapter 8

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. The songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. lol 

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together.

**Chapter Eight: The War with Paxos and **

**the Connection of Soulmates**

Back on Ithaca, the war was in full mode now. Gregory was the General of the army and he was good but Julian also made it so that Ulysses was in charge, especially because he knew his son was good at both fighting and strategic planning. Of course Virgil was at his side and though King Julian had soldiers to fight his war for him, he never had them do anything he wasn't willing to do himself and since he was still in very good shape, he went out and fought also. Some of the battles took place on ships while they fought in the water and others took place on land. Marguerite worried all the time about her husband and son being out there fighting, knowing that at any moment either one of them or both could be killed. Camilla often kept her mother company because they both needed each other for support and life just wasn't the same, she couldn't hang out with her friends all the time, not to mention she was worried about her father and brother as much as her mother was worried about them.

So they kept each other company and Marguerite dealt with matters of the kingdom that Julian couldn't see to while he was out there fighting and planning. Marguerite was in their chambers where she had prepared a hot bath for Julian and turned down the sheets since a soldier had informed her a while ago, that the fighting had ended for today. When she was done she walked over to the window and looked out at her beautiful island, the part that hadn't been touched by war anyway. As she stood there she thought about so many things, she then turned her head as Julian walked into the room. "Are you alright?" She asked her husband as she walked over to him and he nodded as he sat down in a chair and began taking off his armor. "I'm fine my love," he said and she looked at him and nodded then began helping him with his armor and they just worked in silence. "I bet you could use a nice hot bath and some hot food," Marguerite said and Julian nodded then looked into the eyes of his wife, his Queen.

"Ulysses is fine," Julian said knowing Marguerite wanted to know but was afraid to ask as she was every day. Marguerite looked into the eyes of her husband and nodded. "He isn't hurt?" She asked and Julian grinned a little as he shook his head, "Ulysses might have a scratch on him but nothing else. That boy is fast and deadly with a weapon in his hands when he needs to be, I see now why he was the best in his class and with Virgil at his back…" Julian said then shook his head and let out a breath. Marguerite looked at her husband then let out a breath and took his hand as she lead him towards the bath chamber, "I wish he didn't have to fight, I wish neither of you did, this war is senseless," Marguerite said and Julian nodded as he got in the tub. "Most wars are senseless my love, I tried my best to avoid this but sometimes men just get greedy and sometimes war is necessary for change."

Julian said then let out a breath as he leaned back and relaxed and Marguerite got down on her knees behind him and soaked a sponge then ran it over Julian's shoulders and back. "There can be change without blood shed," she said, "sometimes, but people choose to react before they think about the consequences of their actions. They'd rather fight to prove their point, than to sit down and talk about their differences or problems," Julian said then let out a breath as he felt Marguerite run the sponge over his chest. "Then there are those who want to make a point or take what they want by force which is what we have here, but there is no way I am giving up my kingdom. I really didn't want it to come to this, I've tried everything possible," Julian said. "I know you did and I'm not blaming you for anything, I just wish things didn't have to be like this. When I think about you and Ulysses out there fighting and killing people, knowing it could be possible that you could be killed yourself. I just…I just worry about you that's all," Marguerite said and Julian turned and looked into the eyes of his wife.

"I know you do and I'm trying to end this war as quickly as possible, so many lives can be saved," Julian said and Marguerite nodded. "I know," she said and Julian let out a breath, "I'll be finished here in a little bit," Julian said and Marguerite nodded then stood and walked over to the door and as she was about to walk out she turned and looked at Julian who had turned back around and was leaned against the tub. "What will you do Julian, if we win? What will become of Paxos? What will become of King Dartanion, his family and his people?" Marguerite asked and Julian let out a breath as he stared out into space. "Paxos will become mine and I will give Dartanion the choice of staying in his kingdom and becoming a Satrap, if he chooses other wise he will be exiled and I will find someone that I find worthy to rule in his place." Julian said and Marguerite looked at him then walked out of the room and headed back to the bedroom where she sat down in a chair and thought, because that's all she could do.

Meanwhile, Ulysses was finishing up with some last reports so that he could know how everything was going and when he and Virgil were finished they both headed to their rooms. Ulysses let out a breath as he got to his room where he took out his key to unlock the door and when he tried to do just that, he found that his door was already unlocked. He knew he locked his door before he left so he silently pulled his sword, then quietly opened the door and walked into his room, quietly closing the door behind him. He looked around the sitting room where he found nothing suspicious or out of place so he continued to his bedroom. When he was in his room he looked around then heard a noise coming from the bathing chamber, so that's where he headed. He was almost there when the person came walking out of the chamber and he pointed his sword at them, "gods Ulysses," Victoria said as she held her hand up to her chest, her heart feeling as if it were about to pound its way out, and Ulysses let out a breath as he lowered his sword.

"You scared me half to death," she said as she slapped Ulysses on his arm and he looked at her as he sheathe his sword, then turned and walked into his bedroom. "What are you doing here?" He asked her and Victoria looked at him, "well I thought it would be nice if you came back to your room to a hot bath, your bed turned down and…" she said then walked up to Ulysses as she looked into his eyes. "and waiting arms," she said and Ulysses looked at her then backed up as he let out a breath. "Victoria, as much as I appreciate the gesture, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here," Ulysses said and Victoria looked at him. "Ulysses why are you fighting us, what we could be? I know you want me because I want you and all I want to do is make you happy." Victoria said and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked into her eyes, "I know and Victoria I'm sorry but I can't give you what you want. I…I don't love you like you love me," Ulysses said and Victoria looked at him, looked into his eyes where she saw that he meant what he said.

She swallowed hard and nodded, "well um…" she said then cleared her throat and Ulysses closed his eyes and ran his fingers over his forehead. "Um…I had a bath prepared for you and there's um…there's some food over there," Victoria said as she pointed to the table and Ulysses looked at her. "Victoria I'm sorry," he said and she gave him a small grin that didn't reach her eyes, "its okay, really. I shouldn't have come here, you were right it was a bad idea. I just thought…" she said then stopped as she looked at Ulysses. "Who cares what I thought, it was stupid and just a really bad idea," she said then walked over to a chair and picked up her cloak. "I really do appreciate the gesture," Ulysses said and Victoria nodded as she headed for the door. "I'll uh…I'll see you around," Victoria said then walked out of the room and Ulysses let out a breath as he heard the door close.

'_Why does everything have to be so damn complicated?' _Ulysses asked himself then let out another breath as he walked into the sitting room where he locked the door then headed back into his bedroom where he began to take off his armor and clothes. When he was finished he walked into the bath chamber and looked at the tub of steaming hot water _'well I shouldn't let this go to waste'_ he thought to himself, then got into the tub, moaning as the hot water hit and began to relax sore muscles. When he had soaked long enough, he began rinsing all of the blood, dirt and grime from his body, making sure he washed his hair real well as well. When he was done, he got out, dried off then wrapped the towel around his waist. He let the water out of the tub then walked into his bedroom where he sat down and began to clean his sword and armor and as he did that, all that was on his mind at that moment, was Xena. He wondered what she was up to and if she was missing him as much as he was missing her, he had just sent her a letter out a couple of days ago, so he was waiting for her return letter.

A half an hour later, Ulysses was finished cleaning his armor and he sat it to the side in a chair, since he knew he would be putting it back on tomorrow. His sword however, he placed next to the bed in case he would need it and he even placed a dagger under his pillow. He ate some of the food that had been brought to his room and had a drink of wine, he stoked the fire place a bit then took the towel off throwing it into a near by chair before he got into the bed butt naked as the day he was born. Usually he would put his pajama pants on but lately he had been sleeping in the buff and only he knew why. Ulysses let out a breath as he lay on his stomach, the sheet covering his butt as he hugged the pillow close to him. He closed his eyes and thought about Xena and when he fell asleep he dreamed of Xena, wishing he were there with her instead of in Ithaca fighting a war. He missed her so much it hurt and he didn't know that missing someone so much could hurt as bad as he was hurting at this moment.

The next couple of days passed and the battles were getting more and more dangerous to the point where they were even skirmishes in the middle of the night, Paxos trying to get the upper hand but unfortunately for them, Ithaca had Ulysses and some of the best war advisors. Most nights, Ulysses walked into his room and did the same ritual that he did every night, which was to strip himself of his armor and clothes, then take a hot shower where he let all of the blood, dirt and grime rinse off of him. When he was done he cleaned his armor, and sharpened all of his weapons especially his sword.

When he was finished he'd lie in bed and look at the picture of Xena, where he thought about her and fell asleep with her on his mind. The following day they had a war counsel, "my lord we can end this tomorrow," Gregory said and Julian looked at him. "He's right," Ulysses said as he looked down at the map where they had war pieces positioned from everything that was going on. Julian looked at his son, "if we position the men correctly and time everything just right, we can crush Dartanion's forces in a matter of hours." Ulysses said and Julian as well as all of the others on the counsel looked at him, "what do you have in mind?" Julian asked and Ulysses looked at his father then down at the map and began to explain to them what he was thinking and what he had planned. "You're going to cut off their retreat?" Gregory asked and Ulysses nodded, "stop them completely right in here, so that they won't have anywhere to go. Either they surrender or they die," Ulysses said and they all looked at Ulysses.

"My lord I'm not sure if this is appropriate, we don't slaughter people," Gregory said and Ulysses looked at him. "I'm not talking about slaughtering anyone, I'm just talking about ending this so that lives can be saved on both sides and we can all get back to some normalcy of our lives. This is the perfect plan and we have just enough men to pull this off," Ulysses said then turned and looked at his father who looked into his son's eyes, "if everyone follows my lead and does exactly what I say, we can do this, this war can be over by tomorrow," Ulysses said and Julian looked at his son then let out a breath as he looked out at the other counsel members who all had their reservations but none of them had any other better ideas. "Ulysses this is a big risk, you want us to use all of our men in this plan and if this goes wrong we will be in real trouble. We'll be left unprotected," Julian said then stood and walked over to a window where he looked out at his kingdom. "This will work, trust me," Ulysses said, "I don't think this is a good idea my lord, I have been in my share of battles and I will willingly give my life for you and Ithaca but this is too risky…its…its foolish my lord," Gregory said.

A few of the others agreed and Julian let out a breath as he thought about it and Ulysses shook his head. "You guys are going soft, if we don't do this we could be at war for months, years," Ulysses said. "That's better than losing all that we have," one of the men said and Ulysses looked at him. "Is it? Hundreds of lives will be lost, ruined, think about that." Ulysses said and before Julian knew they were all arguing back and forth, "ENOUGH," Julian shouted and they all went quiet. "This isn't solving anything," Julian yelled at them then let out a breath. "All of you leave me, you'll have the answer in an hour," Julian said and they all stood and began leaving the room, Ulysses included. When the door closed, Julian let out a breath and sat down in his chair where he began to think and look at the map to see if there was another way, any other options than the one that was now presented to him. "Well?" Virgil asked as Ulysses leaned against the wall and looked at his friend, "we're waiting to see what his decision will be," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded then looked over at Gregory who was talking with a few of the other war advisors.

"I take it Gregory didn't like the idea," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at his friend, "no, neither did some of the others. They're willing to let this war go one for months and months. The next thing you know we'll have another Trojan war on our hands. They think that I'm young and rash but they don't see that I'm doing this for Ithaca's well being," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "I know but you have to admit this plan of yours is very risky and very dangerous," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at his friend. "Would you rather we not do it Virgil? Just think about what the outcome will be," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "I know, I know, I'm just saying," Virgil said and Ulysses let out a breath as he leaned his head back against the wall. "I know it's risky and dangerous but I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think we were capable of handling something like this. We've already been in this war for almost four months and I'm ready for it to be over, so many lives are being lost and its not right, its not." Ulysses said and Virgil looked at his friend, "I know its not…I just…" Virgil said then let out a breath and looked at Ulysses who looked at him.

"I'm behind you all the way and to the end, you know that," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded. "I do, the same goes for me," Ulysses said then let out a breath and looked up at the ceiling. "Besides we can't go getting ourselves killed before you get married, I'm looking forward to being your best man," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him then grinned at his friend. "You're just assuming that you're going to be my best man," Ulysses said and Virgil smiled at him. "Who else would you get? Gregory?" Virgil asked and they both chuckled at that thought. Ulysses let out a breath as he slid down on the wall and sat down on the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest so that he could rest his arms on them and Virgil joined him on the floor. "I see you didn't deny that you were getting married," Virgil said and Ulysses shook his head as he held the stone in his hand feeling Xena's presence.

"I love Xena so much and I have every intention of making her my wife, just as soon as this stupid war is over," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "Have you told your parents about Xena?" Virgil asked and Ulysses shook his head and let out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair, "no, I'm trying to figure out how and when to tell them. I don't know how they'll feel about me marrying a commoner," Ulysses said. "I think that they would be happy that you're happy," Virgil said and Ulysses sniggered at that, "what makes me happy hasn't really been a priority as of late. Come on Virgil you know how it is, we are royalty and our parents, especially our fathers, don't want us to marry just anyone. Most marriages have nothing to do with love its all about who will profit from whom. If I marry this princess then we'll have this kingdom's alliance, if not then we could be at war," Ulysses said and Virgil grinned and nodded. "Don't have to be in Rome to have politics going on," he said and Ulysses nodded, "that's for sure," he said and they continued to sit there talking every now and then while they waited for the hour to be up.

When that hour was up everyone was back at the door and they waited a couple more minutes before they opened the door and walked in. Ulysses looked at his father who was sitting in his chair at the head of the table, "come in, I've made my decision," Julian said and all of the men came in and took their seats. Julian let out a breath as he looked out at his war advisors, the general of his army, who was a great friend as well as advisor, and his son whom he trusted with his life and Ithaca's well being. "This decision wasn't by far an easy decision, I know many of you have a lot of concerns about Ulysses' plan. You think its risky, foolish, rash and unsafe, well I would have to agree with you on that," he said and there were a lot of breaths of relief let out and Ulysses just continued to look at his father. "However, all those things this plan my son has come up with may be, it is the best course of action we have to end this war once and for all. So my decision is we will go through with this," Julian said then turned and looked at his son.

"Ulysses, since this is your plan you are in charge," he said and Ulysses looked into his father's eyes seeing the tremendous amount of trust that was being placed in him and he bowed his head in respect. "My lord…" a few began to protest but Julian held up his hand. "This is final and not up for further discussion, Gregory you will follow Ulysses' orders as if they were coming from my own lips," Julian said and Gregory looked at his king and bowed his head. "Now lets all head to the planning room where we will plan this out step for step and go over it until it is drilled into our heads so that there will be no mistakes," Julian said and they all stood and began to leave the room. When Ulysses turned to leave, his father grabbed his arm and Ulysses turned and looked into the eyes of his father, "don't make me regret this Ulysses. I've basically put the future of Ithaca into your hands, do not let me down, do not disappoint me." Julian said then walked up to his son until he was in Ulysses' face, "there's more than just your pride on the line here, you have people's lives in your hands now," Julian said and Ulysses looked into his father's eyes.

"I know and I understand, believe me I do. I promise you father, this will work and this war will be over and in a couple of days Paxos will be ours and things can start getting back to normal. So many lives will be saved doing this," Ulysses said and Julian looked at him. "And so many will be lost doing this," Julian told his son then looked at Ulysses a while longer before he walked out of the room. Ulysses let out a breath then closed his eyes _'give me strength Athena'_ he prayed then let out another breath before he walked out of the room closing the door behind him. Virgil got off of the wall and fell in step with Ulysses as they headed to the planning room, "so we're doing it?" Virgil asked and Ulysses nodded, "yes my friend we're doing it," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded and all was quiet as they continued to walk. When they got to the room they planned out everything making sure that they had everything covered, even the tiniest detail covered and when they did, Gregory, Julian, Ulysses and Virgil went to the soldier's barracks and had the men trained and went over everything with the captains and lieutenants.

Once they had drilled everything into the soldier's heads and made sure they understood everything, they all went and got some rest planning to get up two hours before sunrise to go over everything again so that it would be fresh in their minds. Ulysses and Virgil both practiced while Julian constantly went over plans with Marguerite sitting near by watching him. "Are you really going to do this Julian?" She asked and he let out a breath as he turned and looked at his wife, "yes I am. Ulysses is right about one thing, this war has to end. We've already been at war for four months, it doesn't need to last any longer, we don't need to keep losing and ruining more lives if we don't have to, if there is a way that we can end this, this is a way," Julian said. "But its suicide," Marguerite shouted then let out a breath as she walked over to her husband, "I love Ulysses and I trust him but this plan that he has come up with is crazy, its going to get you all killed." Marguerite said, "Marguerite," Julian said in a loving tone but she stopped him from saying anything else.

"NO," she yelled and he looked at her in surprise, "have either one of you thought about me and Camilla, what will happen to us if something should happen to you? What are we supposed to do Julian if you die? Hmmm? You tell me that, what are we supposed to do?" Marguerite asked and Julian let out a breath as he looked down for a moment, "you say if we win you will take Paxos and make it your own. What do you think will happen to us if we loose? Do you think Dartanion is just going to let us be? You're being gracious in saying that you will offer him the choice of being a satrap or exile. Do you think if you and Ulysses were both dead he would offer me or Camilla the same? He will have the opportunity to wipe out your line Julian and he would be a fool not to take that opportunity," Marguerite said then walked up to her husband and held his face in her hands as she looked into his eyes and he looked into hers where he saw so much love, concern and devotion towards him.

"I love you so much and I have such faith in you my husband but I am afraid. I'm more afraid for your life and Ulysses' than I am for my own. I am your Queen Julian and I will face death with you but what of your kingdom, what of your children?" Marguerite asked and Julian looked at her. "Everything will be fine," he told her and Marguerite shook her head as tears filled her eyes and Julian just embraced his wife in a hug where he held her tightly and she did the same as she shed tears, "I can't loose you," Marguerite whispered to him and Julian closed his eyes as he ran his hand over Marguerite's hair. "You will never loose me," Julian said and when the hug ended he pulled back and looked at his wife wiping her tears away with his fingers as he looked into her eyes. "But if I should die tomorrow…" he started to say and Marguerite closed her eyes and shook her head as more tears ran from her eyes. "If I should die tomorrow," he said again as he held Marguerite's face up so that he was looking into her eyes.

"I have made arrangements for you and Camilla and I promise you, Ulysses will be here to take care of you both should the Fates cut my line," Julian said and Marguerite nodded then leaned in and kissed her him softly but passionately. When the kiss ended Julian looked into his wife's eyes as he caressed her hair, "be strong my Queen like I know you are." He said then grinned as he caressed her cheek with his fingers, "that's one of the reasons why I feel in love with you because you are so strong, especially when I can't be. These 28 years have been the best of my life," Julian said and Marguerite nodded, "and the best of mine as well." Marguerite said and Julian looked at her then leaned in and kissed her again and this kiss was more passionate than the last. When it ended Julian placed a kiss on Marguerite's forehead then walked away to the bed where he sat down. Marguerite looked over at her husband then something came to mind, "I have one thing to do before I come to bed," Marguerite said and Julian nodded.

Marguerite walked out of their chambers and headed down the hall and around the corner until she came to the door she wanted to be at. She knocked hard on the door and after a minute the door opened, "mother, is something wrong?" Ulysses asked and Marguerite looked at her son then walked into the room without saying a word and Ulysses closed the door behind her. "Your father told me about your plan," Marguerite said and Ulysses looked at her, "I can see in your eyes you think it's a bad idea too," Ulysses said. "I do, Ulysses if this is a way to prove something to us or I don't know…do something, can you just please find another way to do it. You're going to get your father killed," Marguerite said and Ulysses looked at his mother, "mom I'm not trying to prove anything to anyone, I truly believe that this is the best way to end this and so does dad, that's why he agreed with me. As for getting dad killed, he can take care of himself quite well," Ulysses said and Marguerite looked at her son.

"Your father isn't as young as he used to be Ulysses, he just can't keep going out there fighting all those men at one time and for so long. He isn't as young as you are, I beg you for your sake and his, please rethink this plan of yours, tell your father you were mistaken, that you can't do this. There has to be another way," Marguerite said and Ulysses looked at his mother as he shook his head, "I've looked mother, father's looked, we've all looked, there isn't another way. The alternative will be to continue fighting and who knows how long that will last, our resources will eventually began to run out. We have to do this," Ulysses said and Marguerite looked at him and shook her head as she turned around and brought her hand up to her face. Ulysses looked at his mother and he couldn't stand to see her this way, so he walked up to her and pulled her into his arms, hugging her. "I promise you mother, dad will be fine, I promise you. This will go right and everything will be fine," Ulysses said.

"I can't lose him," she said and Ulysses closed his eyes and hugged his mother tighter knowing how she must feel, "you won't I promise," Ulysses said then placed a kiss on his mother's forehead. "I promise," he whispered to her once more and when the hug ended Marguerite told her son to get some rest and she left his room and headed back to hers. When she got there Julian was already asleep so she softly got into the bed laying on her side facing away from Julian. She found it next to impossible to fall asleep knowing what lay ahead tomorrow. Julian rolled on his other side and scooted up behind Marguerite wrapping his arm tight around her and inhaling her scent as he continued to sleep. Marguerite ran her hand over her husband's arm, then down to his fingers where she intertwined them with hers. Amazingly enough, ten minutes after being in his arms, she couldn't stop her eyes from drooping and after a couple of minutes of fighting sleep, she pushed back into Julian and dosed off. Back in Ulysses' room his mother's words continued to rang throughout his ears and he let out a breath as he lie in the bed and read Xena's letter that he had gotten a day before.

My Dearest Ulysses,

I say it in every letter and I'll continue to say it until I'm looking into your brown eyes and your arms are tight around me, I miss you. I miss you my love so much that it hurts and the only thing that comforts me at night is knowing that I'll have sweet dreams of you and that I feel your presence in the necklace around my neck. You'll be happy to know that Gemini is doing exactly what you asked her to do, she doesn't leave me alone for a minute and in times when I'm missing you so much, her presence is a comfort. You should see her and how she's grown, she can get onto the bed by herself now.

Life here in Amphipolis is good, nothing special going on here. I've been doing more and more things with Athena, there was one time that I really needed you here. The mission I had been on had been really hard on me and there were some things that happen that well, I guess I wasn't ready for and I didn't know how to deal with it but I've gotten through it. It would have been a real comfort though, to have you by my side, I know you would have made it all better. I miss having you hold me and me you as we stare into each other's eyes saying what we don't with words, with our hearts. I miss having your hand in mine as we walk, I miss hearing your voice, having you hold me when we sleep and still have you holding me when we awake. Oh how I miss you and I making love, not just the physical pleasure that came with it, which was great, but everything else as well. How our souls seem to meet and connect, us making love is a beautiful thing, that I hope to experience again soon.

I hope you're doing okay, I'm really worried about you and the fact that you're at war but I know you can take care of yourself. Just make sure you come back to me alive and whole. I love you so much and I can't wait until we see each other again. Be safe.

All my love,

Xena

Ulysses had been reading that letter over and over ever since he got it and this time when he was finished he walked over to his desk where he sat down and began writing a letter to Xena. When he was finished he sealed the letter with wax and his sealed then left his room and went to the message room where he made sure the letter was sent out as soon as possible. Once that was done he went back to his room and went over the plans in his head again then got ready for bed and went over the plans once more, making sure there weren't any loop holes or things that had been missed. Once that was done he went to his nightly ritual of pulling out Xena's picture and looking at it as he held the stone around his neck, "soon my love, soon we'll be together," Ulysses said then placed the picture back in his night stand, blew out the candle and turned on his side preparing to fall asleep, his hand holding the stone on his necklace.

Morning came all too soon and when Ulysses woke he stretched then began to do a few push ups to wake up all of his muscles. When he was done he stood and twists and turned. When he was finally done he wiped down his body then began getting dressed. Once he was dressed he began to put on his armor and when he was finished, he picked the stone to his necklace up and closed his eyes then kissed it as he thought of Xena. He placed the necklace in his shirt then picked up his sword and the belt that it was attached to and put it on, he then looked at his sword making sure it was okay then sheathe it. He looked at the rest of his weapons which was mainly knives and daggers then placed them all in hidden spots all over his body and others were plain to see.

When he was ready he headed to the soldiers barracks where he found there were others there as well, going over the plan to make sure everyone knew what they had to do. Julian was in his room getting ready with Marguerite helping him with his armor and when he was ready to go he spent the last few minutes he had with Marguerite and when his time was up she walked him to the door. When he opened the door he found Camilla leaning against the wall and she raised her head and looked at her father, "you'll be careful won't you?" She asked as she walked up to him and he grinned as he looked into the eyes of his daughter as he reached out and touched her cheek. "I will be careful," he said and Camilla looked at him then hugged him tightly, "promise you'll come back daddy," she said in a soft tear filled voice and Julian closed his eyes as he caressed his daughter's hair. After a minute he pulled back and looked at his grown daughter, "you've grown into such a beautiful woman, I'm proud of you my daughter," he said and tears began to roll down Camilla's cheek.

"Why did Ulysses have to come up with this stupid plan," Camilla said and Julian looked at his daughter, "no, don't blame him for this. He's just trying to end this so that lives can be saved," Julian said then let out a breath and looked at his daughter. "I love you Camilla," he said as he caressed his daughter's cheek and she looked at him, "I love you too daddy," she said and he smiled at that. "I haven't heard that in a while, usually when you wanted something," Julian said and Camilla looked at him. "I want you to come back unharmed," she said and he looked into her eyes, "I'll try, I'll try," he said then hugged his daughter once more. "Take care of your mother," he whispered to her then placed a kiss on her cheek, when the hug ended he looked into her eyes one last time then placed a kiss on her forehead. He began walking away then stopped and turned to look at his wife and daughter, Camilla having moved next to her mother.

He looked at them then turned and continued to walk away. Camilla turned her head and leaned into her mother who held her close as she watched her husband walk away, for what could be the last time she would see him alive. Julian made his way to the barracks and after that, time just seemed to pass by so quickly. After a while they moved out onto the battlefield where they went over the plan once more in the tent while the soldiers moved into place. "My lord the enemy is approaching," a soldier said as he ran into the tent and they all looked at each other. "Moment of truth gentlemen," Ulysses said, "you all know where you need to be, lets move out," Ulysses said and they nodded and left the tent. "Dad," Ulysses called as Julian was about to walk out of the tent, instead he turned and looked at his son. "I'm proud of you my son, prouder than I have ever been," Julian said and Ulysses looked into his father's eyes where he saw fear and love.

"This will work dad, I promise you it will. And when this battle is over today, you will go back to the palace and walk into mother's waiting arms," Ulysses sad and Julian looked into his son's eyes and grinned. "When this is all over we're gonna have to talk about how this change in you occurred," Julian said and Ulysses grinned. "I'll hold you to that," he said as he walked over to his father until they were standing face to face, "if something should happen Ulysses…" Julian said but Ulysses cut him off. "I'll take care of mother, Camilla and Ithaca," Ulysses said and Julian looked into his son's eyes then placed his hand on his cheek. "I'm so proud of the man you have become," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father then grinned. "Don't go get yourself killed out there old man, you and I still have many arguments to have," Ulysses said and Julian laughed as he pushed Ulysses' head.

"I'll show you who's an old man, you just make sure you don't get yourself killed youngster," Julian said and Ulysses chuckled. "Oh I won't, I have too much to live for now," Ulysses said then winked at his father, who was trying to figure out what had changed his son so. Ulysses walked out of the tent and Julian followed behind him, both heading to their horses, "I'll be seeing you," Ulysses told his father and Julian nodded, "and I you," Julian said and Ulysses nodded then watched as his father clicked his tongue and began riding off on his horse. Ulysses let out a breath and looked at Virgil who came riding up next to him, "are you ready?" Ulysses asked and Virgil looked at him, "couldn't be more ready," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned at his friend then turned and looked ahead. "Alright, then let's make the Paxonians wish they had never waged war on us," Ulysses said.

"Move out," Virgil yelled and the men began to move on their horses since Ulysses was in charge of the main force, which was the cavalry, which in his plan would eventually turn into the infantry. It wasn't long before everyone was in place and Ulysses was looking at the enemy who was miles away, directly across from them, Ulysses had known they would come this way. "Hold," Ulysses yelled to the men as he held up his hand while the other held the reigns of the horse who could feel the fever of battle and was showing it. _'Almighty Athena give me strength to do what is right and to protect all that I have ever known. Watch over and protect my mother, father, sister, Virgil and all of the people of Ithaca. Watch over me at this hour on this day, so that I may return to Xena, your Chosen, the woman who has stolen my heart and as you are aware, the other half of my soul'_ he prayed then opened his eyes and looked out at the enemy and in the process his body become stone cold. "For Ithaca," Ulysses yelled and by then he had pulled his sword and was holding it up, "for Ithaca," the men yelled as they too held up their weapons and when Ulysses pointed his sword forward, the men did not move instead arrows began flying.

They were the best archers Ithaca had and even though the enemy was far away they were hitting their targets and in doing so the enemy began to attack and Ulysses signaled his men to do the same; the biggest battle that would end it all had begun. They were two hours into the battle and everything was going as planned, Ulysses' forces were now on foot and cutting down every man they came in contact with. "The king's forces are being surrounded," a soldier yelled and Ulysses turned and looked at the soldier then towards where his father should be and he did indeed see that they were being surrounded. "I have no idea where they came from my lord, it's as if they came out of no where," a soldier yelled and Ulysses just acted. He began to run, cutting down the enemy's soldiers who tried to stop him.

He saw an enemy riding towards him on a horse and quickly he looked around and found a spear lying on the ground, he ran for it and picked it up, then looked at the guy on the horse who was still coming and cutting down men as he did. Ulysses aimed the spear at the guy and then with all his might he threw it. The spear went through the man with enough force to knock him off of his horse and pin him to the ground. Ulysses held on tight to his sword and ran for the horse and when he was close to the horse, who was still galloping, he grabbed the horse's reigns and jumped up onto the horse. He rode the horse towards his father, cutting down the enemy who would dare stop him as he went, "Virgil," Ulysses yelled to his friend who he saw fighting and Virgil looked up at Ulysses. "To your King," Ulysses yelled pointing his sword towards where Julian was and Virgil nodded and was on his way there as well.

Ulysses rode hard and fast until he was there and he began cutting down men not even thinking about it, all he knew was that they were a threat. He saw his father being surrounded by a gang of men and he was trying his best to fend them off. Ulysses jumped down off of the horse onto a soldier who was about to killed one of Ulysses' men but no longer, since Ulysses' sword went through his back. Ulysses stood quickly and fought his way over to his father who had fallen to his knees, since he was hit from behind. Ulysses moved hard and fast picking up another sword on the way, as he fought to get to his fallen father, and when he was finally there he stood in front of his father fighting off all of the men who came at them from all sides. When he finally had a break, he grabbed his father's arm and tried to pull him up, "come on get up," Ulysses said as he used his strength to help his father up. "Get up, I promised mother I would bring you back to her alive," Ulysses said and Julian looked into his son's eyes.

"GET UP," Ulysses stressed and Julian looked once more into his son's eyes and then some where deep inside he found the strength to pull himself up using Ulysses' arm to help him. "Are you good to go?" Ulysses asked his father and Julian nodded, "just give me a sword and I'll be fine," he said and Ulysses nodded then turned around and ran his sword through a guy that thought he was sneaking up on him. Ulysses looked around for a sword and found one, then handed it to his father. "Need to signal the next wave of the plan," Julian said and Ulysses nodded and found a nearby soldier with a bow and told him to light it then signal the others to start the next part of the plan. The next thing everyone knew the sky will filled with arrows which were on fire at the end. When they hit the ground a circle of fire was ignited surrounding the enemy that had been pushed back into a spot where they would be trapped by the fire.

Ulysses brought his sword up and fought off another guy that attacked as he continued to defend his father who was getting his ground and fighting as well. They were back to back and doing well until Ulysses saw three guys that were getting ready to gang up on his father. Ulysses couldn't move as fast as he wanted to because he was fighting his own set of men in front of him, "dad look out," Ulysses yelled and Julian heard him but he was fighting and moving as fast as he could which wasn't fast enough. Ulysses slashed out at the last guy in front of him then quickly turned so that his body was in front of his father. From that point on everything seemed to move in slow motion, all Ulysses could think about was the promise he made to his mother and how much he loved his father. By the time his entire body was in front of Julian's, he felt a sword pierce his lower abdomen but his body still reacted and he ran his sword through the guy in front of him.

"Ulysses," Julian cried and Ulysses looked into the eyes of the guy who he just killed and the guy looked back until he fell back onto the ground, sliding off of Ulysses' sword and his sword leaving Ulysses' stomach. Ulysses stood there looking at nothing but his hand went up to his stomach and he raised his hand and saw that it was covered in blood. Ulysses could hear yells and screams all around him, not to mention the searing, hot pain he felt in his stomach but in his mind, there was still a war that needed to be fought and won and so far his plan was working excellently, they were winning. So he reached deep down in himself to call up what strength he had left and he resumed fighting. He fought hard and fast like that for at least another half an hour until there were a few soldiers yelling that they had done it, they had won. Some of the Paxonians were surrendering and the others that were trying to retreat were being cut off and in the end, they surrendered as well.

"We did it," Ulysses whispered. "My lord we did it, the Paxonians are retreating and I've sent forces to Paxos," Gregory said to Julian who smiled and nodded as they grabbed arms in a soldier's handshake. "You were right, Ulysses' plan was rash and it may have been foolish but by the gods it worked, it worked," Julian said with a smile and Gregory smiled and nodded as well. "Where is the great strategist anyway?" Gregory asked, "he's around here somewhere," Julian said as he turned his head and looked around until finally he spotted Ulysses and the smile he had on his face went into a frown as he saw his son drop to his knees. Julian ran over to Ulysses dropping down behind him and catching his son in his arms just as Ulysses fell back. "Gods, gods no," Julian cried as he looked down at his son, "Gregory get help," Julian yelled and Gregory ran and yelled to get help.

"Hang on son, hang on," Julian said to Ulysses who looked up at his father and grinned, "I'm alright, just a cut," Ulysses said and Julian looked down at the wound on Ulysses' stomach removing his hand so that he could see. "Oh gods," he said as he closed his eyes and shook his head, "its…its not that bad," Ulysses said then momentarily closed his eyes as the pain shot through him. Julian looked up as Virgil ran over, pushing his way through the mall crowd that had gathered around Ulysses and Julian. Once he was next to his friend, his brother, he dropped down next to Ulysses, "I was hoping it wasn't true," Virgil said, word of Ulysses being injured having spread faster than a raging fire. Virgil looked down at his friend and Ulysses opened his eyes and looked at Virgil, "are you alright?" Ulysses asked and Virgil nodded, "I'm fine, you?" He asked and Ulysses grinned, "I'm good," Ulysses said then swallowed hard and grimaced as his father pressed a cloth down hard on Ulysses' wound to stop the bleeding.

"This was meant for me, you got this protecting me," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father, "its okay," Ulysses said and Julian shook his head. "No its not, I'm your father I'm supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around," Julian said and Ulysses swallowed once more as he felt himself becoming weaker, "I…I promised mother that I would bring you back alive and whole…I promised," Ulysses said and Julian looked down at his son and shook his head. "We have to do something," Virgil said, "I've sent for help," Julian said and Virgil shook his head. "They'll never get here, they're tied up at the front with the other wounded soldiers," Virgil said then looked around and found two horses wandering nearby.

Virgil ran over to the horses and pulled them over to Ulysses and Julian, "we'll have to take him there ourselves," Virgil said then leaned down and helped Julian help Ulysses' up. "Come on Ulysses I just need you to stand for a little bit," Virgil said and Ulysses let out a moan as he used what remaining strength he had left and stood up in his feet with his father's and Virgil's help. After that they helped Ulysses up onto the horse, "I'll take him," Julian said as he got onto the horse sitting behind Ulysses and holding on tight to him. "Yahhh," Julian said to the horse as he began galloping away, Virgil right behind him on his horse. The battlefield was littered with bodies, some dead and some wounded and they were all passed up as Julian tried to get to the palace where he knew there would be help for Ulysses. "My lord the healer will be waiting at Ulysses' chambers," Gregory yelled from a horse he was on.

Julian nodded and looked at Ulysses who leaned against him, "hang on son," Julian said as he continued on towards the palace. Back in the palace Marguerite and Camilla were sitting down at the table for lunch in the dinning hall which was deathly quiet with them both as well as everyone else thinking about the war that was going on. "My lady," a soldier called and Marguerite looked up as she saw the soldier running towards her and her heart jumped into her chest as she stood already fearing the worse. "My lady," the soldier said again in an out of breath voice and bowed before Marguerite who was standing and Camilla had stood and moved next to her mother. "What is it?" Marguerite asked and the soldier looked at his Queen, "the war is over, we have won," he said and Camilla let out a breath as she smiled. "Well that's great news," she said but for Marguerite something else was on her mind.

"What of Julian?" Marguerite asked, "my lady?" The soldier asked confused by her question, "the king, is he alive, is he hurt?" Marguerite asked almost in a panic, "last I saw the King was alive and well my lady," the soldier said. "And when last did you see him?" Marguerite asked, "when word spread that the war was ended," he said and Marguerite let out a breath of relief. Her relief did not last long however when she heard a commotion outside of the dinning hall. She left the hall with Camilla behind her and she followed the noise down the hall and up the stairs where she saw a group of soldiers. "What is going on here?" Marguerite asked as the soldiers made a path for her and when she was clear of them she stopped in her tracks at what she saw. Julian and Virgil were carrying Ulysses towards his bedroom and he lie limp in their arms.

"Oh my gods," Marguerite gasped and Julian turned his head and looked at his wife, "open the door," he said and two men opened the doors to Ulysses' room and Julian and Virgil carried him in, followed by Marguerite and Camilla. They placed Ulysses on his bed and Marguerite rushed into the bedroom, to her son's side, "where's Pyres, she was supposed to be here by now," Julian said as he ran his bloody fingers through his hair in a sign of frustration. Marguerite sat down on the bed next to Ulysses, removing the blood soaked cloth from his wound and tears fell from her eyes as she saw the damage. "Camilla get some water," Marguerite said then looked down at her son and grabbed a cloth from near by and began wiping his forehead removing sweat, blood and dirt.

Ulysses opened his eyes and looked up at his mother giving her a small grin, "I kept my promise," he whispered to her and Marguerite brought her hand up to her mouth as she cried. "Oh my son," Marguerite cried as she looked down at her son and then she was pulled up by Julian so that the healer could get where she was. "We have to get these clothes off of him and stop the bleeding," Pyres said, talking more to her assistants than to anyone else. They cut Ulysses' clothes off with a knife and as soon as his upper half was bare Pyres went to work with trying to stop the bleeding.

**Amphipolis…**

It had been a long day at the Inn and Xena was exhausted when the day was finally over. She took a hot shower then got ready for bed, "move over," Xena told Gemini who was lying in the bed like she owned it. Gemini looked up at her mistress then stood and moved over until she was closer to the wall which was usually Ulysses' spot. Xena laid down in the bed and let out a breath as she hugged her pillow to her; she closed her eyes and was asleep in a matter of minutes. She was asleep for about an hour when she began to have a very vivid dream. _She found herself on a battleground and when she looked around she saw men fighting all over. She began walking around wondering why she was here and then after a few minutes she saw why. She walked over to where a gang of soldiers were ganging up on two men and she recognized one of those men as Ulysses._

"_Ulysses look out," she yelled as she saw a guy approaching Ulysses from behind and Xena looked around in panic and tried to pick up a sword she saw on the ground to help him but her hand went right through the sword. She let out a frustrated breath then looked up just in time to see Ulysses run his sword through the guy that thought he was sneaking up on Ulysses. Ulysses pulled his sword free as he turned and slashed the guy's neck then continued fighting. Xena let out a breath of relief and continued to watch Ulysses as he fought and then she saw his attention turned to the other guy that was fighting back to back with Ulysses. "Dad look out," she heard him yell and that told her that, that was Ulysses' father he was trying so hard to defend. She could see there were too many men for his father and then she watched as Ulysses turned just in time to save his father's life, "NO," Xena yelled as she saw the sword pierce Ulysses' stomach but still he continued to fight._

_When the soldier was down, Xena watched with her heart racing as Ulysses brought his hand up and looked at the blood on it. Xena ran over to him as if she could do something, "Ulysses," she called but he just looked forward then she watched a change in him as he gripped his sword tighter and began fighting again. When Xena saw this she let out a breath and thought he must be okay if he continued to fight but from then on she kept a very close eye on him. Xena let out a breath when she heard that the war was ending and that Ulysses' kingdom had won. Xena grinned as she walked up to Ulysses standing in front of him, "you did good my love," she told him and he grinned as he looked at her. "Not good enough," he said and she was surprised that he heard her but concern and panic began to take her as she looked down at Ulysses' wound and saw_ how much he was bleeding.

_Ulysses then dropped to his knees and she was getting ready to call for help when Ulysses' father ran up behind his son catching Ulysses' in his arms. Xena got down on her knees next to Ulysses and she looked into his eyes as she held his hand and he grinned up at her. "I'm dreaming," he said and she grinned at him as she caressed his forehead and he closed his eyes at her touch. Xena stayed by his side until he was placed on a horse with his father and they rode towards the palace and then the next thing she knew she was in the palace watching as Ulysses' father and Virgil carried Ulysses into his bedroom placing him on the bed. "Don't leave me," Ulysses said to Xena who sat down on the other side of the bed next to Ulysses, "I won't," she said as she caressed his hair watching as his eyes closed._

_Xena sat there and caressed his hair as she watched the healer work and then all of a sudden Ulysses' back arched off of the bed as he cried out in pain. The healer and her apprentices began to work faster and the next thing Xena knew everything began to fade out, "Ulysses," Xena called as she looked at him and she continued to call his name as the scene before her continued to fade away. _"ULYSSES," Xena cried out then popped up in her sleep looking into the eyes of her concerned brother. "Are you alright?" Lyceus asked and Xena looked at her brother then around the room, "What…" she began asking and Lyceus looked at her. "You were dreaming, you were screaming no and for Ulysses. I was passing by when I heard you," Lyceus said and Xena ran her hands over her face and through her hair.

"Poor Gemini here was trying to wake you up but you wouldn't wake, I tried to and thought I would have to send for Corrinna," he said and Xena let out a breath. She then looked at Gemini who brushed her face against Xena's hands and Xena grinned as she rubbed Gemini behind the ears. "I'm okay Gemini," Xena told the wolf who continued to stay at Xena's side, "she doesn't think so and neither do I," Lyceus said and Xena just let out another breath as she ran her fingers through her hair. "What was the dream about?" Lyceus asked, "the dream was more like nightmare," Xena said then looked at her brother who was waiting for her to tell him. "I don't know…its bits and pieces here and there," Xena said, "then tell me what you remember," Lyceus said and Xena let out a breath and nodded as she pushed back on her bed until her back was against the wall.

"I took a shower, came to my room and laid down because I was beat. The next thing I know I'm on a battlefield and there are people fighting all around. I walked around trying to figure out where I was and what in the world was going on, when I saw Ulysses fighting, he and some other guy were being ganged up on. I tried to pick up a sword to help but couldn't…" Xena said then closed her eyes as she tried to envision the rest. "Then all of a sudden Ulysses turns to save the other guy and he's wounded…he continues to fight and I thought he was okay until all the fighting ended and he dropped to his knees." Xena said then opened her eyes and looked at her brother, "if I was dreaming, how is it that he saw me?" Xena asked, "and if it was only just a dream then how come it feels so real?" Xena asked her brother and Lyceus shook his head as he moved back by his sister, "I don't know," he said.

"It was so real Lyceus, I mean I watched as he got hurt and I saw all of the blood he was losing," Xena said then shook her head as she brought her hand up to her forehead. "He looked into my eyes and spoke to me and…I was able to touch him and hold his hand," Xena said then shook her head once more. "I don't think it was a dream, he's hurt and he's hurt bad," Xena said and Lyceus just pulled his sister to him wrapping his arm around her as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sure he's fine," Lyceus said but he wasn't convincing Xena. Lyceus kept Xena company a while longer then went back into his room and she laid back down in the bed attempting to go back to sleep but with Ulysses being injured on her mind she couldn't, all she could do was lay there and worry about him.

**Ithaca…**

An hour later, Pyres was finished with Ulysses and she wiped her hands as she walked into the sitting room where Ulysses' family waited for news on how he was. "Pyres," Marguerite said as she stood up and Julian looked up and walked over to the healer, "how is he?" Julian asked and Pyres looked at them both, "his wound isn't that serious but he lost a lot of blood and infection is beginning to set in. I've given him some herbs to fight the infection and the oncoming fever and cleaned and stitched up his wound but there is nothing I can do about the blood loss. From this point on there is nothing more I can do but help Ulysses fight the fever so he has a chance of recovering, all the rest is up to him," Pyres said and Marguerite leaned into Julian's chest as she cried and he held her close to him.

"Can we see him?" Julian asked and Pyres nodded. Julian led his wife into their son's room and they walked over to the bed where one of the apprentices was wiping Ulysses' face with a cool cloth. Marguerite sat down on the bed next to her son taking his hand in her on and holding it, "I'm right here Ulysses, your father and I both are here," Marguerite said. "That's right son and we need you do get better, there's so much that we haven't done and talked about," Julian said as he sat down on the other side of the bed and looked at his unconscious son. "Remember you said there were arguments we still had to have…well I'm holding you to that son. You get stronger so you can come back and we can fuss and fight and your mother can stop us from killing each other," Julian said with a small grin and Marguerite smiled as she wiped her face. "That's right and your sister needs someone to argue with as well," she said then sat there and looked at her son.

"Come on Ulysses, wake up for me, wake up for your mother," Marguerite said and she waited a few minutes for him to wake up but when he didn't she brought her hand up to her face and began crying. "Shhh…it's going to be alright," Julian said and by then he had made his way over to Marguerite and was holding her in his arms. "He's going to be alright…our son is strong all he needs is some rest," Julian said trying to convince his wife and himself. They sat there a while longer and then Julian stood and went to get himself cleaned up before he had to handle business since the war was now over. His first priority was to get a report from Gregory on how many men were dead, how many were injured, what the damages were and how many prisoners they had, not to mention what was the status on Paxos since soldiers had been sent to take the kingdom until Julian could get there.

When King Julian had checked on his men and he found that everything was in order and when he knew all there was to know, he headed down to the docks with Gregory and about twenty other guards that weren't injured and they got on a ship and headed to Paxos. It would take then an hour to get there, but feeling confident, Ulysses had a ship with men waiting off to the side to take the kingdom when they won, not giving Dartanion any time to pull any stunts. "How is Ulysses my lord?" Gregory asked as he stood next to Julian who was leaning against the railing of the ship, looking out at the sea. "He was still the same before we left, unconscious because he lost a lot of blood." Julian said, "I'm sure he'll be fine, Ulysses is a strong man," Gregory said and Julian nodded as he continued to look out at the sea. "He saved me," Julian said, "my lord?" Gregory asked not really hearing Julian because he was walking away.

"I was being surrounded, they must have known who I was and thought if they could somehow kill me then they would win the war. Ulysses came out of no where and just jumped on the guys behind me and he started fighting and we fought back to back." Julian said then let out a breath as he stood up straight, "still they came and it seemed like for every man I killed five more came. There were just too many coming from every direction and I knew sooner or later one would get me but I was determined to go down fighting and taking some of those bastards with me. I don't know what happened…" Julian said as he shook his head. "The next thing I knew Ulysses was in front of me and I saw the sword hit him but he kept going and fighting," Julian said then looked at Gregory, "I thought he was alright," he said and Gregory looked at his King and friend.

"I'm supposed to be lying in that bed not him, not my child," Julian said, "it's not your fault Julian," Gregory said. Julian let out a breath, "I pray that this is the last war we have to fight, this one was so senseless," Julian said and Gregory nodded. "You did everything you could to prevent this war, it's my opinion that Dartanion just needed a topic to fight about so that he could start this war." Gregory said and Julian nodded, "I've figured that out as well, I've also figured out that Dartanion has just gotten greedy and he wanted Ithaca for himself. He risked everything and now Paxos is ours," Julian said. They talked a while longer until they reached Paxos and from that moment on it was all business. Horses and men were waiting for them and they took the horses to the palace where they proceeded to make their way inside to the throne room where they had cornered Dartanion, his family and other important people of Paxos, noblemen and their families.

Dartanion stood when Julian entered the room and he looked into Julian's eyes, "have you nothing to say Dartanion?" Julian asked, "what is there to say?" Dartanion said and Julian walked up to him as he continued to look into his eyes. "You started a war over something foolish that cost many lives and you want to know what there is to say?" Julian asked, "look around you, you have sacrificed everything, what about your family, your kingdom?" Julian asked and Dartanion looked at him then let out a breath, "it was a risk I had to take," Dartanion said. "Why?" Julian asked, "why did you wage war against me? Your kingdom and mine have been allies since our fathers ruled, we could have worked whatever was wrong out, instead you decided you wanted to go to war. You cost innocent people their lives," Julian said in a raised voice. "By the gods your foolishness and greediness may me have cost me my son," Julian yelled his eyes filled with anger and pain.

He looked at Dartanion who continued to say nothing then he walked up closer to Dartanion, "if he dies you'll wish your children had never been born," Julian said and for emphasis he kept eye contact with Dartanion for a while longer then turned and walked away. He walked over to the door and let out a breath as he closed his eyes and all he could see was Ulysses lying in his bed unconscious and his wife crying because she thought their son would die. "My lord," Gregory called and Julian opened his eyes and looked at his general, "are you alright?" He asked and Julian nodded, "what do you want me do to with them?" Gregory asked and Julian looked at him then turned his head and looked at Dartanion who was sitting down at a table comforting his wife and then he looked at Dartanion's three children, the two youngest were being taken care of by a caretaker but the oldest who looked to be about seventeen, sat there at the table and looked around, his eyes coming in contact with Julian's eyes but he didn't look away.

That reminded Julian a lot of Ulysses, who never looked down, who never backed down from anyone or anything. "Keep a very close eye on them, don't let them out of your sight, who knows what little plans Dartanion has cocked up. We'll be taking them back to Ithaca, Dumont will take over until I find a more permanent person depending on Dartanion." Julian said and Gregory nodded then bowed his head and watched as Julian left and he walked back over to Dartanion. "What is he going to do with us?" Dartanion's wife asked and Gregory looked at them, "as soon as Dumont gets here, who's a caretaker of sorts," Gregory said as he pulled up a chair and sat down. "You and your family will return to Ithaca with us…Paxos is now under Ithaca rule," Gregory said and Dartanion looked on as one of the soldiers tore down Paxos' flag and put up Ithaca's flag. He let out a breath and lowered his head and Gregory watched on as Dartanion's wife wrapped her arm around her husband as she leaned her face into his while running her fingers through his hair.

Julian made his way to Dartanion's office where he looked over some documents trying to figure out what was going on and what state the kingdom was in. When he was finished there he went to the archives and took a look there as well, hoping to find something, anything to explain Dartanion's behavior. "Yea," Julian answered as he sat at Dartanion's desk reading, he looked up when the door opened and one of his guards bowed then stepped to the side as a tall, medium built man with blond hair, wearing clothes of nobility stepped into the room. "My lord," he said as he bowed his head and Julian stood, "Dumont," Julian said as he approached him. "You know why I've called you here?" Julian asked, "I do my lord," Dumont answered and Julian nodded. "Then I need not tell you anything except for you know how I run things and how I like them to be ran. Treat Paxos and its people like you would Ithaca and your people," Julian said and Dumont nodded.

"It will be done my lord," Dumont said and Julian nodded, "good then I leave you to it then. Once I find a more permanent person for the position you will return to Ithaca. Understood?" Julian asked and Dumont nodded, "I understand my lord," Dumont said and Julian nodded then walked out of the office with Dumont following him. "Assure the people that nothing drastic will happen to them or their laws unless I feel the need to change them which I doubt. Also make sure the wounded are well taken care of," Julian said and he continued to tell Dumont things as they headed back to the throne room. Once there the doors were opened for them and they walked inside. Julian nodded to Gregory who stood and had the men gather Dartanion and his family, "as I said I want Paxos ran as if I were here running it myself," Julian said and Dumont bowed his head in respect and understanding.

"Well Dartanion I assume my general has informed you of what is about to occur?" Julian asked as Dartanion and his family were brought over to him and Dartanion looked into his eyes and nodded. "We're going to Ithaca but it's not clear what you're going to do with us once we're there," Dartanion said and Julian looked into his eyes were he saw fear but the fear wasn't for himself but for his family. "Do you think I'm taking you to Ithaca to kill you and your family?" Julian asked with a grin on his face and Dartanion just looked at him, "come now Dartanion, I'm not that kind of man, I thought you knew me well enough by now to know that," Julian said then turned and began walking out of the door. "Then why are we being taken to Ithaca?" Dartanion asked and Julian turned and looked at him, "we're going to have a discussion and depending on the results I get, you and your family just might see your home again," Julian said as he looked into Dartanion's eyes.

"Let's go, I have an injured son I need to check on," Julian said to Dartanion then looked at Gregory who nodded and they began to walk through the palace heading for the exit. Once they were out of the palace carriages were waiting to take them to the docks where a ship waited for them. When they were on the ship, they immediately left and headed back to Ithaca, like it took them an hour to get to Paxos it took them an hour to return to Ithaca. Carriages and soldiers were waiting at the docks for Julian and Dartanion's family. They were taken to the palace and once there they followed behind Julian who had soldiers running up to he and Gregory, left and right with reports. Julian had stopped in the middle of the hall and was giving orders when Camilla came running towards, "daddy," Camilla cried as she ran into her father's arms.

"Camilla what's wrong?" He asked her and then his mind immediately went to Ulysses, "Camilla is Ulysses alright?" Julian asked his distraught daughter who just continued to cry. "Camilla…" Julian said as he pulled her back, softly holding her face in his hands as he looked into her eyes. "Is your brother alright?" Julian asked and Camilla looked into her father's eyes as she shook her head, "his fever has risen and…and the healers can't get it down," Camilla said and Julian let out a breath. "Take them to their quarters," Julian told Gregory who nodded then watched as his king rushed off with Camilla to Ulysses' room. When they reached Ulysses' room they walked straight to his bedroom and once Julian was there Marguerite looked up from her vigil by her son's bedside.

"They can't get his fever down," Marguerite said and Julian nodded as he walked over to the bed, "I know, Camilla told me," he said as he sat down and looked at Ulysses while Marguerite dabbed his forehead with a cool cloth. "Pyres said that this could be the body's way of trying to heal itself but with Ulysses' loss of blood he…" she said but couldn't finish the rest. Julian looked at his son then shook his head as he reached for a near by basin with a cloth in it, he squeezed some of the water out and began dabbing the cloth on Ulysses' chest trying to help cool him down. Julian just sat there and tended to his son bringing the cloth up to his face wiping away some of the sweat, "this is an unusual necklace," Julian said as he looked at it and Marguerite looked at it as well. "It is, I don't even know where he got it from but it looks like it's broken," Marguerite said. "Or maybe a half of a whole," Julian said then they both looked up at Ulysses as he moaned, "Xena," he moaned.

"Ulysses…can you hear me sweetheart?" Marguerite asked as she wiped Ulysses' forehead, "Ulysses it's your dad…open your eyes for me son," Julian said and Ulysses pried his eyes opened and looked at his father. "Father," Ulysses whispered and Julian smiled and nodded, "yes son it's me and your mother's here too," Julian said. "That's right sweetheart I'm right here and all we want you to do is get better," she said and with his eyes half open he looked over at his mother then back at his father. "Xena," Ulysses whispered, "what son…I didn't hear you," Julian said and Ulysses closed his eyes for a few minutes. "Where is she?" Ulysses asked, "where is who?" Julian asked and Ulysses opened his eyes and looked at his father. "Xena…where is she?" Ulysses asked and Julian looked at his son then at Marguerite trying to see if she knew what he was talking about but she had about as much of a clue as he did.

"Ulysses we don't have any idea about what you're talking about," Julian said. "Xena…where is she? She was here, I saw her," Ulysses said and Julian shook his head as he looked down at his son. "No one's been here Ulysses except for the healers and your mother and I," Julian said and Ulysses shook his head. "No, she was here…I saw her," Ulysses said then began to struggle to get up. "Ulysses no, you need your rest," Marguerite said as she pushed her son back down on the bed, "I have to find her," Ulysses said as he continued to try and get up. "Find who? Ulysses there was no one here I promise you, now lie back down, you need your rest," Julian told his injured son and Ulysses shook his head. "She was here," he said and Julian pushed him back down to the bed. "Let me go I have to find her…I need her here," Ulysses yelled as he began to struggle.

"Go get the healers," Julian told his wife as he struggled with his son trying to keep him in the bed, "let go…I need her, I need her," Ulysses yelled and when the healers came in they all held him down as he struggled while Pyres fixed him something to calm him and help with the fever. "XENA…XENA…LET ME GO I NEED HER…XENA," Ulysses continued to yell as he continued to struggle and they forcefully made him drink what Pyres made and in a matter of minutes he calmed down. "Damn it," Pyres said and Julian looked up, "what?" He asked, "he tore open his stitches," Pyres said then let out a breath as she pressed a cloth to his wound to stop the bleeding and pressing down hard causing Ulysses to moan in pain.

Julian stood and walked to the side of the room where Marguerite sat in a chair keeping an eye on Ulysses, "do you have any idea about who this Xena woman is?" Julian asked and Marguerite shook her head, "no I don't but maybe Virgil does," she said and Julian nodded. "I'm sure he'll be here in a little while, we'll ask him then," Julian said and from that moment on they waited for Pyres to be finished fixing Ulysses up again and then they were at his bedside once more. A couple of hours later Virgil walked into the room and over to the bed where Ulysses' parents still sat, "how is he?" Virgil asked and they looked up at him, "he's lost a lot of blood and he has a very high fever," Julian said and Virgil nodded. "But he'll be okay right?" Virgil asked and Julian let out a breath as he looked down at his son. "We're not sure, only time will tell," Julian said and Virgil let out a breath as he looked down at his friend.

"Virgil can I speak with you for a minute?" Julian asked and Virgil looked at him and nodded, "I'll be right back," Julian told Marguerite who looked at him and nodded. Julian and Virgil walked over to the door and spoke in a low voice, "a couple of hours ago Ulysses woke up and his fever had him delirious. He was yelling for a woman, I believe her name was Xena," Julian said and Virgil looked at him then looked down. "Do you know who this woman is and what she means to my son?" Julian asked and Virgil nodded, "yes I know who she is and what she means to Ulysses but I can't tell you," Virgil said and Julian looked at him. "Why not?" He asked and Virgil let out a breath as he looked over at the bed at his friend lying there, "because its something Ulysses should tell you, not me," Virgil said and Julian let out a breath.

"I think we have a right to know, our son could be dying," Julian said and Virgil looked into his eyes. "You should have more faith in Ulysses, have more faith in your son, that he will pull through this. He's strong, so strong and he has a lot to live for now, he will pull through this, I truly believe that and when he does he will tell you what you want to know." Virgil said then walked away back over to the bed where he sat down at the foot of the bed and looked at his best friend lying there. Julian let out a breath as he ran his hand over his forehead then walked into the sitting room where he sat down on the sofa and let out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair. He sat there and thought about his son and about the fact that he believed he should be lying there, not his Ulysses.

"My lord," Gregory said from the door and Julian looked up at his general, "yea," Julian asked and Gregory walked over to him. "How is Ulysses?" He asked, "he has a very high fever," Julian said and Gregory nodded then handed Julian some documents in his hand. "These are all the reports on the men and damages as well as everything that's going on in the kingdom," Gregory said and Julian nodded as he sat them down on the table. "I'll take a look at them in a little while," he said and Gregory nodded. "How are our guests?" Julian asked, "confused, Dartanion doesn't understand why you're treating he and his family so well." Gregory said and Julian nodded, "something's going on with him, there's something he's hiding. Send a message to Dumont and tell him to find out what he can, go through Dartanion's records, get the nobles, those closets to Dartanion, to help him find whatever. I want it done immediately," Julian said and Gregory nodded.

"It will be done," he said then left the room. Julian let out another breath and picked up the documents off of the table and began looking over them. When he was finished he sat them back down on the table then let out a breath as he ran his hands over his face feeling exhausted. Julian leaned back on the sofa just wanting to rest his eyes for a bit and before he knew it he had dosed off. Half an hour later Marguerite walked out of the bedroom wondering where her husband had gone and when she walked into the sitting room she found him asleep on the sofa. She walked over to the sofa where she sat down and placed her hand on Julian's thigh, "Julian," she called and he opened his eyes then sat up. "How's Ulysses?" He asked, "still the same, Virgil's sitting with him right now," Marguerite said and Julian nodded as he ran his hand over his neck and his wife looked at him. "Why don't you go back to the room and get some rest," she suggested and Julian shook his head.

"No, I want to be here in case Ulysses wakes up again not to mention there's too much that needs to be done," Julian said and Marguerite nodded. "That's what you have your advisors for, you've just spent the better part of the morning fighting hard in a war. There is much to be done I know but you won't be good to anyone if you fall from exhaustion and if Ulysses wakes up or there's any change in his condition, I'll send for you right away." Marguerite said and Julian looked at his wife and let out a breath because he knew she wouldn't let him get away with running his self ragged like this without getting any sleep, plus he knew he needed the rest as well. "Fine but I'll just lay here and get some rest, I want to be close by in case anything happens with Ulysses," Julian said and Marguerite shook her head at her husband.

"You're so stubborn and you wonder where Ulysses gets it from," she said and Julian grinned at her then closed his eyes as he leaned into her touch while she caressed his cheek. "He saved me," Julian said as he opened his eyes and looked at his wife, "that should be me lying in that bed not him. I was being surrounded and he just came out of no where and helped me. Get up he said, I promise mother I would bring you back alive and unharmed," Julian said as he looked at Marguerite and she looked down as she shook her head. "I went to see him, to beg him to tell you he was mistaken, that there was another way, that his plan was crazy and that it was going to get you killed. He promised he would bring you back to me," she said as she caressed Julian's face with both of her hands. "And he did," she said as she leaned her forehead against his and they looked into each other's eyes, "I just didn't expect he would neglect his own life to do so," she said.

Julian looked into her eyes and with his fingers wiped away the tears that rolled down her cheeks, "it's not your fault," he said and she looked at him. "And it's not your fault," she said and Julian shook his head as he looked down. "I should have done something more to prevent this war," Julian said. "What? What could you have done that you didn't already do or try? Our son lying in that bed is no one's fault but Dartanion's because he was the one who started this stupid war. It is not your fault nor is it mine or anyone else's," Marguerite said and Julian nodded then let out a breath and lay back on the sofa. "You're right I am tired," he said and Marguerite nodded as she stood allowing Julian to stretch his legs out and she sat down on the side of the sofa as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Julian let out a breath as he relaxed and in a matter of minutes he was asleep. Marguerite sat there a while longer then leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead, "sleep well my King," she whispered to him then gently stood and grabbed the throw from the back of the sofa, placing it over Julian. When she was done she headed back into the bedroom where she saw Virgil sitting in a chair close to Ulysses' bed and he had dosed off as well. She shook her head at him _'men, always trying to be so macho'_ she thought to herself then sat down on the bed where she proceeded to wring a cloth out and wipe off Ulysses' forehead.

**Amphipolis…**

It was now morning time and no matter how Xena tried she just couldn't get that image of Ulysses lying sick in the bed out of her mind. She felt it in her heart that something was wrong, unfortunately there was nothing she could do. She was tired from last night because she hadn't gotten any sleep and now she was up and about doing the things that needed to be done around the inn. There was so much on her mind. All she could think about was that dream she had about Ulysses and about the fact that it seemed so real, that and he saw and spoke to her. She was wondering how that was possible if it were a dream and then she thought maybe her mind was just playing tricks on her, but if that was so, then how could she feel in her heart that Ulysses was actually hurt.

"Oh Argo, I don't know what to do or believe girl," Xena said to the mare as she rubbed her neck and the horse neighed at her and Xena let out a breath as she sat down on a bale of hay. Gemini came and walked over to her or as close as she could get with Argo butting her, "Argo stop," Xena said with a grin as she watch Gemini swing her paw at the horse. "Gemini," Xena called and the wolf walked over to her mistress placing her paws on Xena's thighs so that Xena could scratch behind her ears which Gemini loved. After a while Gemini wandered off while Xena continued to sit there and think, with only her thoughts and Argo, who butted her every now and then, to keep her company. Xena looked up when she heard a noise then stood when she recognized that noise as Gemini growling and a man cursing.

Gemini was growling as she pulled Maphias into the barn by his pant leg, "damn it…let go," he cursed as he tried to shake Gemini off and Xena grinned. "Gemini," Xena called and the wolf let Maphias go and ran over to her mistress, "that damn wolf is a menace Xena," Maphias said as he walked over to her then stopped when Gemini started growling and Xena grinned as she watched Maphias take a few steps back. "She wouldn't have been dragging you in here if you weren't sneaking around," Xena said and Maphias let out a breath. "I wasn't sneaking," he said and Xena looked at him as she raised an eyebrow and he let out a breath. "I was just trying to make sure you were okay," he said and Xena looked at him. "Why wouldn't I be?" She asked and Maphias hunched his shoulders as he looked at her, "I thought you might be wondering what was going on with Ulysses with the war and all," he said and Xena looked at him.

"Am I supposed to believe that all of a sudden you care about Ulysses?" Xena asked and Maphias shook his head, "no but I do care about you," he said and Xena just shook her head at him. "Look Xena I'm just trying to get you to see that Ulysses isn't coming back, I mean face it, the man is a prince, he's royalty and you are a peasant. What possible reason could he have to come back for you?" Maphias asked and Xena looked at him, "he loves me and I know that and I have no doubts about it." Xena said and Maphias nodded, "that may be true, but look at it this way, he's already lied to you once, what's to stop him from doing it again?" Maphias asked, "look I'm not trying to hurt you or make you doubt what you guys have, I'm just concerned about this fantasy world you seem to be living in. I just…I don't want you to be crushed if he doesn't come back, if you get a letter from him saying that what you and he had was nice while it lasted but he has to think about his future as king, a future that you're not in, that you can't be in because you're a peasant."

Maphias said and Xena looked at him, "and when that happens Maphias, you want me to look to you for comfort, to lean on your shoulder?" Xena said as she looked at Maphias and he looked at her, "there's nothing wrong with that," he said and Xena grinned as she shook her head. "You're unbelievable do you know that?" Xena asked him, "you had me Maphias but you weren't satisfied with what you had, you had to change me and when you saw that you couldn't, you left. Now you have come back to Amphipolis with thoughts that we can just pick up where we left off but I'm here to tell you that's not going to happen. You had me then threw me away, you don't get to come back and judge me and the man I'm with. I'm in love with Ulysses and nothing you do or say is ever going to change that. Face it, you didn't know what a great thing you had in me until you lost it," Xena said and Maphias looked at her and nodded.

"You're right, I didn't know what a great thing I had. I was stupid and foolish to let you go and treat you the way I did and I am so sorry for all that I have done. I will admit I want you back Xena but that doesn't change all that I've told you about Ulysses. Princes don't just marry peasants, so he may come back for you and you guys could have a couple more years together but when his family pressures him to marry, he's not going to look at you, he's going to look for a nobleman's daughter, royalty and face it you are anything but. I'm just trying to save you from the heartache," Maphias said as he looked at Xena a while longer then walked out of the barn. Xena let out a breath as she walked back into the stall with Argo and sat back down on the bale of hay, Maphias' words ringing loudly, over and over again in her ears.

Xena leaned over and placed her elbows on her knees as she ran her fingers through her hair as she sat there for a couple of minutes, her mind consumed by her thoughts. "Hey Xena are you in here?" Lyceus called and Xena let out a breath as she stood, "yea," she said and he looked at his sister as he walked over to her. "Are you alright?" He asked as he looked into her eyes and Xena nodded as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Yea, I just had a little visit from Maphias and his words shook me up a little that's all." She said and Lyceus shook his head, "he said something about Ulysses didn't he?" Lyceus asked and Xena nodded, "well whatever he said don't believe a word of it. He's just jealous that you're not his any more," Lyceus said and Xena nodded. "Come on, mom made some of those strawberry pastries we love," Lyceus said as he wrapped his arm around Xena's shoulders and she grinned at her brother as she walked out of the stable with him.

"You know it must be hard being the most beautiful girl around for miles and miles," Lyceus said and Xena grinned at her brother as she pushed him and he smiled at her. "I can say the same for you, you're the most handsome man around," she said and Lyceus grinned. "I don't think Toris would appreciate that," he said and they both chuckled. "You're trying to brush it off like you didn't have a girl in your room two nights ago," Xena said surprising Lyceus and he looked at her. "How did you…you didn't hear us did you?" Lyceus asked and Xena grinned at her brother, "no I didn't hear a thing…pookey bear," Xena said after she paused for a more dramatic effect and Lyceus closed his eyes. "You did hear us," he said and Xena smiled as she nodded. "Don't worry your secret is safe with me," Xena said and Lyceus nodded.

"You know you and Ulysses weren't exactly deathly quiet," Lyceus said and Xena looked at her brother, her mouth opened in surprise as she smiled. "Why didn't you say anything?" She asked and he hunched his shoulders, "I didn't want to embarrass you," he said, "but now that you've heard me I just thought I should tell you, you know for leverage," he said and Xena grinned at her brother as she pushed him. "You're so mean," she said and he smiled at her as he hugged her close, "only to you because I love you so much," he said then placed a kiss on her forehead and Xena grinned at her brother. They walked into the kitchen smiling and Cyrene looked up at her children, seeing the grins on their faces. "Okay what have you two been up to?" She asked him and they looked at each other then back at their mother, "nothing," they said in unison and she looked at them. "Uh huh…that last time you two walked in grinning like that you mixed glue and mud together and placed it in Toris' sheets.

Things were sticking to him for days," Cyrene said and Xena and Lyceus grinned. "Yea, that was pretty good," Xena said and Lyceus chuckled as he nodded his head. "Damn it," Toris cursed loudly from downstairs and Xena and Lyceus looked at each other then burst into laughter. Cyrene looked at her children and shook her head, "you two…I swear if you made a mess…" Cyrene said and Xena held up her hands as she continued to laugh. "We didn't do anything, I swear," Xena said and they turned their heads as Toris came up the stairs shaking his hand. "That damn window has a mind of its own," Toris said, "I think its broken mom," he said in a whining voice and Xena grinned at her brother as she walked over to him. "Clearly it's not broken or you wouldn't be shaking your hand like that," Xena told her brother then took his hand in her own. "Sss…easy…easy," he said and Xena looked at him.

"Oh quit being such a baby," she told her brother as she felt his hand to see if there was anything wrong. "Ly grab that jar in the cabinet over by the door and will you also grab that bandage." Xena said and Lyceus went to do as his sister asked, "see I knew it, something's broken isn't it?" Toris asked his sister and Xena shook her head at him, "will you stop being so dramatic, nothing's broken…sit down," she told her brother and he sat down at the table. "Mother can you bring over a bowl of cold water please?" Xena asked and Cyrene nodded while Xena sat down on the opposite side of the table. Cyrene brought the bowl of water over sitting it on the table between Xena and Toris and Xena picked up Toris' hand and placed it in the bowl, "oooh that's cold," Toris said and Xena shook her head at her brother.

"Thanks Ly," Xena said as Lyceus brought the jar and bandage over and he nodded then grabbed a chair and turned it around so that he was sitting in it with his chest to the back of the chair. "So Toris," Lyceus said as he looked at his brother, "what girl slammed your hand in the door this time?" Lyceus asked with a big smile on his face and Xena chuckled at him, "very funny Ly, very funny," he said then winced as Xena pushed his hand further down in the water. "Enlighten me as to why you have my hand sitting in a bowl of cold water," Toris said and Xena looked at her brother. "Well since you were clumsy enough to get your hand slammed in the window…" Xena said and Lyceus chuckled at that, "I'm trying to keep your hand from swelling, which is what the cold water is for."

Xena said and Toris let out a breath, "this isn't funny you know," Toris said to his siblings, "oh yes it is," Lyceus said and Toris swung at his brother and Lyceus moved out of the way as he laughed. "Shut up," Toris said and Xena grinned as she shook her head at her brothers; Cyrene walked over to the table with a towel in her hand which she handed to Xena then stood there with one hand on the back of Xena's chair and the other on her waist. "How did you slam your hand in the window?" Cyrene asked her son and Toris let out a breath, "I was trying to fix the thing since it wouldn't stay open by itself. I propped it up with a log while I looked at it and then…" he said but Lyceus interrupted him. "And then a pretty girl walked by and you were trying to talk to her and in the course of doing that, your elbow pushed the log out of the window as you stood up and the next thing you knew…BAM."

Lyceus said and for effect he slammed his hand down on the table causing some of the water to spill and Xena to laugh at him. Cyrene smiled at Lyceus as she pushed his head and Toris looked at his brother, "I'll have you know that she was an extremely beautiful woman," Toris said and Lyceus couldn't stop himself from bursting out in laughter as did Xena. "You should have kept that to yourself Toris," Xena said as she pulled her brother's hand out of the bowl then dried it off with the towel. When she was done she moved the bowl to the side then opened the jar and pulled some of its contents out and began rubbing it on Toris' hand. "Gods that stuff is strong," Toris said as he pulled his head back some and Xena nodded. "We don't want there to be any bruising so this will keep your blood flowing properly and also help heal any minor muscle damage there may be in there."

Xena said as she slowly massaged the green paste into her brother's hand and fingers; he winced some but as she continued to massage it in all he felt was this warm feeling and the pain began to recede. "That feels really good," Toris said and Xena nodded as she pulled on his fingers then massaged the back of his hand then his palm; Cyrene stood there watching her daughter as did Lyceus. When she was finished she looked at Toris, "move your hand around," she said as she put the top back on the jar and Toris did just that. "Whoa…that's a whole lot better Xena, thanks," he said and Xena nodded. "Put your elbow on the table, arm straight up and spread your fingers open," Xena said and Toris did exactly that. Xena grabbed the bandage and began wrapping his hand bringing the bandage between each finger, "this will just keep things tight and stop any swelling there may be, you can take it off in the morning."

Xena said and when she was towards the end she tucked the last piece by his wrist, "until then take it easy," Xena said as she stood and walked over to the cabinet placing the jar back. "And do us all a favor and stay away from the windows," Cyrene told her son and Toris nodded while Lyceus laughed. Xena smiled, "thanks Xena," Toris said and she grinned at her brother, "no problem. Just promise me if you see another pretty girl you'll lean out of a door and not out of a window to talk to her," Xena said and Toris looked at her. "Ha, ha," he said and Xena chuckled at her brother while Lyceus continued to laugh. "Hey if you think I'm being mean it's only because I love you," Xena said then pushed on his head and Toris grinned at her and nodded. "Yes well some of that love I can do without, like that thing with the bright red berries," he said and Xena thought about that then looked at Lyceus and they burst into laughter once more.

"Yea that was a good one," Xena said and Lyceus smiled and nodded, "you should have seen your face when you thought you were bleeding," Lyceus said and Toris shook his head at them. "You made me think I was having a moonly cycle," Toris said and Xena doubled over in laughter while Lyceus leaned on the counter as he laughed. "That was not funny, you really messed with my head for a second," Toris said and Xena looked at him. "For a second? Toris you were running around the Inn screaming that you had a moonly cycle, I think it was more than a second," Xena said once she got control over her laugher but when she said that it only made Lyceus laugh harder. "And…and then you…you looked at mother with such a serious expression and said I'm a girl and then the next thing we knew you passed out."

Lyceus said between his laughter and Xena nodded as she started laughing again, "mom tell them its not funny," Toris said and Cyrene turned her head around from the stove and looked at her son with a smile on her face. "Well you have to admit Toris it was a little funny," she said and Toris let out a breath of frustration. "You all just annoy me do you know that," he said and Xena and Lyceus grinned and nodded as their laughter died down. Toris shook his head at them and couldn't help but smile at them, "yea I guess it was a little funny," he said and they nodded then let out breaths as their laugher began to fade. The rest of the day was pretty much like this with them having a good time and when dinner time came around they had an even better time with Corrinna there and they talked about old times.

When night fell and it got late then Inn closed up as usual and Xena cleaned up. When she was finished she headed down to her room where she got ready for bed and Gemini looked at her mistress who laid down in the bed. "You really shouldn't get use to that spot," Xena told the wolf and Gemini looked at her then inched her way over until her head was on Xena's stomach and Xena grinned as she rubbed the wolf. "Your daddy should be back soon Gemini, hopefully real soon," Xena said as she petted the wolf then lay there thinking about Ulysses until she began to dose off. Xena was asleep for about two hours when she began to have another vivid dream. _Xena found herself among what seemed to be clouds or maybe it was smoke, she wasn't really sure. "Now where am I?" She asked herself as she looked around then saw a bright light and a shadowy figure standing feet from it._

_She squinted her eyes trying to see who that was but she couldn't so she walked over there but was being careful even though this was a dream, she had decided that she had already had one strange dream where people were being killed, what was to stop her from having another one? When she was close enough she saw the back of that person's head and she could tell that whoever that was, was a man and the closer she got the more the recognized the back of that person. "Ulysses," she called out and he turned and Xena smiled when she saw that it was indeed Ulysses and he smiled as well. Xena ran the rest of the way to him where she jumped into his arms and they held each other tightly, "oh I've missed you," Ulysses said as he held Xena and she just closed her eyes and held him tighter. "I've missed you too," she said and when the hug ended they pulled back and looked at each other._

_Xena had her hands on the sides of Ulysses' face as she looked deep into his eyes, "this isn't real, this is a dream," she said and Ulysses grinned as he leaned in, preparing to kiss her. "Then it is a good dream," he said and Xena grinned then closed her eyes and moaned as his lips touched hers and they shared a soft tasting of lips. When the kiss ended Xena looked into the eyes of the man she loved, "this feels so real," she said and Ulysses nodded then leaned back in and kissed her passionately and Xena moaned as she took air in through her nose. Her fingers ran through Ulysses' hair and he moaned as he tasted her lips and when the kiss ended, Ulysses leaned forward and began placing kisses on Xena's neck and she moaned as she tilted her head back while she ran her fingers through his hair. "If this is a dream I hope I never wake up," Xena said and Ulysses raised his head and grinned at Xena and she grinned back as they leaned in for another kiss._

**Ithaca…**

When Julian woke, night had fallen and he sat up on the sofa and ran his hands over his face then looked up as healer assistants ran in and out of Ulysses' room. He immediately stood and walked quickly into the room, "what's going on?" He asked and Marguerite raised her head and looked at her husband, tears streaking her face, "his fever is rising," she said and he walked over to the bed watching as Pyres forcibly poured an herbal mixture into Ulysses' mouth then rubbed his throat so that he would swallow. "We just need to keep him cool, we're in for a long night," Pyres said as she stood and then her assistants pulled the sheet back off of Ulysses and placed a large, cold, wet towel on his chest. "Keeping his chest and head cool is what's most important," Pyres said and Marguerite nodded.

"What can we do to help?" She asked and Pyres looked at them, "well we have to keep him cool, so that means constantly applying these cold towels and wiping his body down with cold water. It's the upper half of his body that we have to keep cool, so from his stomach on up, wipe down his arms and his neck, we just really need to break the fever," Pyres said and Julian and Marguerite both nodded. The night moved on and they all continuously changed the cold towels on Ulysses' body that eventually got hot with Ulysses' fever. Camilla came in and took over for her father while he had to go and see about some things. Camilla was sitting on the side of the bed wiping down Ulysses' arm with a towel when she noticed his tattoo and tried to read it.

"Dangerously in love," she said, "what?" Marguerite asked her daughter and Camilla looked at her mother, "that's what his tattoo says, Dangerously in love and then there's a dash and an X behind it." Camilla said and Marguerite looked at his arm, "Xena," Marguerite said. "What?" Camilla asked and Marguerite looked at her daughter, "it was something your brother said earlier when he was awake. He called out for a woman named Xena," Marguerite said. "Who is she?" Camilla asked and Marguerite shook her head, "we don't know," Marguerite said and they continued to wipe his body down with Pyres keeping a constant eye on him. As it got later his fever was not breaking and Pyres was becoming even more concerned, "his breathing is getting shallow," Pyres said as she placed her hand on Ulysses' chest and by then everyone was in the room, from Ulysses' parents, his sister, Virgil and even Victoria who had come to sit with him.

"There must be something more we can do," Julian said to Pyres who looked at her king, "I'm sorry my lord, if there were something more I could do then I would do it. I'm afraid it is out of our hands now. What we can do is continue to keep him cool so that if he should come out of the fever, there won't be any permanent damage but it's all up to Ulysses now." Pyres said and Julian ran his fingers through his hair as he looked over to the bed where Ulysses lay. The more time that passed the worse Ulysses became until his parents thought that they were going to actually loose their son. "Ulysses, please, please don't leave us, your father and I love you so much. Please come back to us son," Marguerite whispered to her son as tears rolled down her cheeks and she looked at him as she ran her fingers through his damp hair.

"Ulysses…" Julian said as he sat on the side of the bed, looking down at Ulysses, holding his son's hand in his own. He looked at Ulysses then let out a breath, "if I ever thought in a million years that this war would cost me what means the most to me, I would have just given Dartanion the kingdom." Julian said and tears came to his eyes as his mind replayed when Ulysses saved his life. "I am responsible for you lying in this bed in more ways than one," and at that moment a tear fell from Julian's eye. "But I promise you, I swear to you that I will make it all right, I will make everything right if you will just fight son, fight and come back to us. We love you Ulysses, we love you so much," Julian said then looked down for a moment as a few more tears fell and after a minute he looked at his son, "I love you," Julian said then leaned forward and placed a kiss on Ulysses' forehead.

"You're a strong man Ulysses, don't let this beat you. Fight, fight this and come back to us. I know you can do it, please fight for me." Julian whispered in Ulysses' ear then placed another kiss on Ulysses' forehead as he shed a few more tears. _Ulysses opened his eyes to find himself in a cloudy place and he looked around but couldn't really see anything. "Where am I?" He asked himself then saw the clouds part and as they did he saw a bright light beginning to emerge. "Well I guess I'm supposed to go this way," Ulysses said to himself and that's the way he began to walk. The closer he got, the brighter the light became and he began to feel this warm sensation inside of himself. He could sense that whatever this light was, wherever he was going, it wasn't a bad place, in fact he sensed that it was good._

_Minutes later he finally made it there and to Ulysses it was strange that the light was so bright but it wasn't hurting his eyes. He stood there and looked into the light, then closed his eyes and let it bathe him and when it did, he felt so happy, so carefree, like everything would be alright. Ulysses felt a pull from the other side of the light and he looked at it a while longer, getting ready to walk into it when he heard a familiar voice call his name. "Ulysses," the voice called and he turned around and couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Xena," he said then smiled as he took a couple of steps forward and she walked over quickly to him and jumped into his arms; they both held each other tightly as they hugged._

"_I've missed you," Ulysses said, "oh I've missed you too," Xena said as they hugged each other more tightly. When the hug ended they pulled back some and looked into each other's eyes. Xena smiled as she placed her hands on the side of Ulysses' face, "this isn't real, this has to be a dream," Xena said and Ulysses smiled at her as he looked into those gorgeous blue eyes. "Then it is a good dream," he said and Xena grinned then closed her eyes and moaned as Ulysses kissed her and she returned the kiss with much enthusiasm. When the kiss ended Xena looked into the eyes of the man she loved and gently shook her head, "this seems so real," she said and Ulysses grinned then leaned forward and reclaimed Xena's lips in a passionate kiss._

_They both moaned into the kiss and Xena stepped closer and she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair and when the kiss ended, Ulysses leaned forward and began kissing on Xena's neck. Xena closed her eyes and moaned, "gods I hope I never wake up," Xena moaned and Ulysses raised his head and grinned at her and Xena grinned back as she leaned in and reclaimed his lips in a very passionate kiss causing Ulysses to moan and pull Xena closer to him, mashing their bodies together. As they kissed, Ulysses could still feel the pull from the light and he ended the kiss and looked into Xena's eyes, "what's wrong?" She asked him and Ulysses looked at her, "I…I don't know," he said then turned and looked at the light. "What's that?" Xena asked as she looked at what Ulysses was looking at and he shook his head then turned and looked back at Xena._

"_I think I'm supposed to go there," Ulysses said and Xena looked at the light, "don't you feel it? The light, it's so warm, and I feel so happy when I get close to it." Ulysses said then turned and looked back at the light, closing his eyes as he basked in all the great feelings. Xena looked at the light and she didn't feel any of what Ulysses was feeling, on the contrary she felt that she wasn't supposed to be there and she felt fear for Ulysses if he should walk into that bright light. She felt that if he did, she would never see him again and that frightened her more than anything in the world. Ulysses opened his eyes and began walking towards the light but he only took a few steps before Xena grabbed his hand stopping him from going any further._

_Ulysses turned his head and looked at Xena, "its okay," he said and Xena shook her head as she walked up closer to him. "No its not Ulysses, I get the feeling that if you go there, where ever there is, you won't come back and I will never see you again." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her giving her a small grin, "Xena that place is no threat, I sense nothing wrong coming from there. Trust me its alright," Ulysses said then began to turn but Xena grabbed his hand tighter then walked up closer to him placing her hand on his arm as she looked deeply into his brown eyes. "Do you trust me?" Xena asked Ulysses and he looked at her, "of course I do," he said and she continued to look deeply into his eyes. "Then trust me now, close your eyes and feel what I feel when I look at that place," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her then let out a breath and closed his eyes._

_Feeling what Xena was feeling wasn't a hard thing to do when he concentrated on it and Xena watched as his brow scrunched up as he began to feel the fear she felt when she thought about Ulysses going towards the light. He opened his eyes and looked at Xena, "but why don't I feel that?" Ulysses asked and Xena shook her head, "I don't know but what I do know is that I love you so much Ulysses and I can't bear the thought of losing you or of never seeing you again. I am so deeply in love with you," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he placed his hand on Xena's cheek. "As I am with you," he said and Xena grinned at Ulysses then closed her eyes as she rubbed her face against his hand then placed her hand on his hand and held it as she kissed his palm and he watched her, that small act feeling him with such love for Xena._

"_We both made promises and we promised each other that we would never leave the other, that not even death could separate us," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "I remember," he said then looked down for a moment. "But the way I just came from seems so dark, cold and alone and I'm not sure if I'm able to make it back," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes. "You are never alone Ulysses, as long as I am in your heart I am with you always," Xena said then held out her hand to Ulysses and he looked at her and didn't hesitate or even think about placing his hand in hers, he just did it because he knew it was the right thing to do because that's what his heart and soul told him. Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes, "trust me, everything will be alright," Xena said and Ulysses gave her a small grin and nodded._

_He and Xena walked hand in hand, side by side, back into the cloudy atmosphere and away from that bright light. They got deeper and deeper into the fog and then suddenly Xena disappeared, "Xena," Ulysses called as he turned his head looking for her. "Remember, I am always with you my love," Ulysses heard Xena's voice say and he let out a breath and closed his eyes, placing his hand on the stone on his necklace where he felt Xena's presence, her love for him. Keeping his hand there he continued to walk deeper and deeper into the clouds until it became dark and he felt himself begin to fade away. _Back in Ulysses' room, Ulysses' breathing had gotten really shallow and like Pyres said there was nothing more that could be done. Marguerite sat on one side of the bed holding Ulysses' hand as she looked down at her sick son, fearing that these would be her last minutes with him.

Julian sat on the other side of the bed with his head bowed as he thought about Ulysses and prayed to Athena to help his son. All of a sudden Ulysses' breathing picked up and Julian raised his head and looked at his son and Marguerite looked at him as well, "Pyres," Julian yelled and the healer walked into the room followed by Camilla, Virgil and Victoria. "His breathing," Julian said and Pyres placed her hand on Ulysses' chest and indeed his breathing was better, it was stronger as was his heartbeat. "Xena," Ulysses moaned and Marguerite looked down at her son then rung out a cloth and began wiping his forehead. "Ulysses can you hear me?" Pyres asked and Ulysses moaned, "Ulysses open your eyes son," Julian said as he stroked his son's hair and Ulysses moaned once more but this time managed to pry his eyes open. Marguerite and Julian both smiled as they looked down at their conscious son.

"Its hot," Ulysses said and Marguerite grinned just happy to hear her son's voice, "that's because you have a fever," Marguerite said. "Here, try to drink a little water," Julian said as he picked up a cup of cool water and he helped Ulysses raise his head as he brought the cup up to Ulysses' lips. Ulysses sipped down some water and when he was done he lay his head back down and let out a breath, "how are you feeling?" Pyres asked Ulysses who looked at her through half open eyes, "tired," he said and Pyres. "Well rest is the best thing for you right now," she said and Ulysses nodded then swallowed as he closed his eyes and before anyone knew it he was gone back into unconsciousness. "I wouldn't worry, like he said, he's tired, I would imagine very tired with his loss of blood and this high fever which we have to continue to treat and we want to keep him in this good condition."

Pyres said, reassuring Marguerite, Julian and the other's before they all began to panic and worry once more. So for the rest of the night they treated his fever with herbs and by keeping him cool along with making sure that his wound wasn't infected and keeping it that way by changing that bandage when it seeped through and keeping a good healing salve on it. By early morning his fever had finally broken and now he was resting comfortably. "My love why don't you go and take a shower and get some rest," Julian told Marguerite who was sitting by Ulysses' bed side while she rubbed her neck. Marguerite looked up at her husband and let out a breath, "but Ulysses…" she began. "Ulysses will be fine, Pyres has assured us that he's on his way to getting better, especially now that his fever has broken. He's sleeping right now and probably won't wake for a while, you can at least get in a couple of hours of sleep and I'll sit with him until then."

Julian said and Marguerite let out a breath and nodded as she stood and Julian walked her to the front door placing a kiss on her forehead before she left and he closed the door behind her. Julian walked back into the bedroom where he sat down in a chair close to Ulysses' bed and he let out a breath as he looked at Ulysses who was resting comfortably. Julian leaned his head back and closed his eyes as he thought about all that had to be done today and about the fact that he needed some rest as well but for now he would have to settle for a little shut eye in the chair he was sitting in. Julian sat there for about ten minutes thinking about Ulysses and how happy he was that he hadn't lost his son. After that he dosed off and that light sleep soon turned into a heavy sleep. Three hours later Julian woke to Pyres dropping a cup on the floor.

He sat up in the chair and ran his hands over his face, "I'm sorry my lord I didn't mean to wake you," she said and Julian shook his head as he stood and stretched. "That's quite alright Pyres, I needed to get up anyway," he said and when he was done stretching he walked over to the bed and looked down at Ulysses as he ran his hand over his forehead feeling the coolness. "How's he doing?" He asked and Pyres looked at him as she began to change the dressing on his wound, "he's doing well. When he wakes up we need to get some liquids in him, maybe some broth if he's able, but the best thing for him right now is bed rest," Pyres said and Julian nodded. "Yea," Julian answered when there was a knock at the door, he looked at the door as it opened to reveal Gregory, "my lord," he said as he walked into the room a little and bowed his head.

"Gregory how is everything?" Julian asked and Gregory nodded, "well my lord, though there is much that needs to be done," he said and Julian nodded. "How is Ulysses?" Gregory asked and Julian grinned and nodded, "he is much better, his fever broke this morning and now he's resting," Julian said and Gregory grinned as he nodded. "That's great to here my lord," he said and Julian nodded. "Was there something you needed?" Julian asked and Gregory nodded, "I'm afraid so, there are quite a few things that require your attention and your attention only. I've held them off as long as I can," Gregory said and Julian let out a breath as he nodded. "I understand and thank you, I'll meet you outside my room in an hour," Julian said and Gregory nodded his head then turned and left the room and as he left Camilla came in.

"Good morning dad," Camilla said as she walked over to her father placing a kiss on his cheek, "good morning sweetheart," he said. "How is Ulysses doing?" She asked and Julian nodded, "he's doing pretty good. Listen can you sit with your brother for a while? Your mother is resting and I have some urgent matters I have to take care of," Julian said and Camilla nodded. "Sure, that's no problem," she said and he nodded. "Great, Pyres won't be far if you need her and when he wakes up send someone for your mother. And also get him to drink some water when he wakes," Julian said and Camilla nodded. "I got it dad," she said and he grinned at her then placed a kiss on her forehead, "I have no doubt," he said and Camilla grinned at her father then watched as he walked out of the room and she sat down in the chair he was in earlier.

When Julian made it to his chambers, he walked in quietly, making sure not to disturb Marguerite if she was still asleep, which he found she was. He quietly moved around the bedroom, undressing himself and putting on a robe before he took out some clean clothes to wear for that day before he went into the bathing chamber, to the shower stall. He cut the water on to the temperature that he wanted then placed his clothes off to the side as he grabbed a large towel to dry off with. He took off his robe placing it on a hook on the outside of the stall before he walked in closing the door behind him. Julian let the hot water beat down on him and he let out a breath as he ran his hands over his face and through his hair. He then placed his hands on the wall in front of him leaning forward, so that the water could beat down on his neck, shoulders and back.

He stood there for a while longer then began to bathe himself. When he was done he got out, dried off and began to get dress. Once he was done, he walked back into the bedroom, sat down on the sofa and put on his boots. He then brushed his wet hair back and let out a breath as he looked at his sleeping wife, who looked so peaceful and unworried, like he knew she had been for a long time, he knew the past months had be really hard on her. He had about a half an hour before Gregory would be at his door so he stood and walked over to the bed gently getting in behind her. He gently scooted up behind her and wrapped his arm around her where he proceeded to lay his head on the same pillow her head lay on. Marguerite moaned as she ran her hand over Julian's hand and clothed arm.

"Is Ulysses okay?" She asked, "he's fine, go back to sleep," he softly said as he wrapped his arm tighter around her, closing his eyes as he inhaled her sweet scent. He let out a breath as he felt Marguerite fall back to sleep and he lay there luxuriating in the fact that he was holding his wife even if it were only for a little while. When it came time for him to go, he eased himself away as to not to wake her but she woke anyway when he was no longer holding her. "Where are you going?" She asked as she rolled onto her back and looked at him and Julian looked down at her, "I have some things I need to see to but you sleep a while longer, Camilla is with Ulysses," Julian said and Marguerite looked at her husband. "What about you? Did you get any rest?" She asked and Julian grinned at her, "I got a few hours of sleep, came back here took a nice, long, hot shower then laid down a while longer with you. So I feel pretty rested," he said and she nodded.

Julian looked at her then leaned down and kissed her softly, when the kiss was over he looked into her eyes as he ran the back of his fingers over her cheek. "Go back to sleep," he whispered then kissed her softly once more before he stood and walked over to a chair where his sword lay. When he had his sword on he looked towards the bed and saw that Marguerite had fallen back to sleep and he grinned as he quietly walked out of the room into the sitting room. When he opened the door he saw that Gregory stood in the hall leaning against the wall waiting for him. Julian shook his head as he softly closed the door behind him then locked it. "What's first?" Julian asked as he and Gregory began walking and Gregory began telling him all what had to be done today.

Two more hours passed before Marguerite woke up. Once she was awake she sent for some food and ate then got dressed and headed back to Ulysses' room. She walked into the room to see Camilla sitting on the sofa reading a scroll and when her mother walked in she looked up. "Hey mom," Camilla said and Marguerite grinned at her daughter as she walked over to the bed sitting down on the side to check on Ulysses. "Hello Camilla," she said then looked at her daughter, "how has he been?" She asked, "he woke up about an hour ago for a couple of minutes, enough for me to get him to drink some water and for Pyres to give him something for the pain. He asked where you and dad were and I told him you were getting some rest and dad was off doing king stuff. After that he fell back to sleep and Pyres changed his dressing then left," Camilla said and Marguerite nodded.

She walked over to the sofa where she sat down on the other end and began talking to Camilla. Marguerite made it a point to check on Ulysses every half an hour to make sure he was okay and that his fever hadn't come back. While they taking care of Ulysses, Julian and Gregory were out in the villages and towns assessing the damages and he gave the builders their orders on what they were to do. Julian grabbed some lunch in between what he was doing but never really stopped for a break since there was so much that needed to be done. When Ulysses woke again, it was an hour before dinner and this time he was able to stay awake for about fifteen minutes which was long enough for him to drink some water as well as a little chicken broth. Pyres talked with him to see how he was doing and what he remembered, trying to asses his mental health as well as his physical health. Virgil came by and kept Ulysses company for those last few minutes he was awake before he was knocked out again from the herbs Pyres had given him and for the fact that he needed rest.

**Amphipolis…**

When Xena woke from that dream, she didn't feel as disturbed and afraid as she felt from her previous dream. As she lay in her bed in the dark room, she felt that everything was going to be alright now, that Ulysses was going to be alright. Xena brought her hand up to the stone on her necklace and closed her eyes as she felt Ulysses and it wasn't long before she fell back to sleep. When morning came she went back to her regular routine of running and exercising which she never really stopped but now she could concentrate more fully on it. When she was done she came back to the Inn, took a shower, helped her mother prepare breakfast then sat down and ate with her family.

As usual she helped her mother with the Inn and when lunch came, instead of eating with the others, she fixed something for herself then saddled up Argo and took her for a run, of course Gemini who was still a cub tried to keep up with them which she often managed. They ran for a good while until finally Xena stopped by a stream where Argo and Gemini could get a drink of water and Argo could graze while Xena sat under a nice shaded tree where she ate her lunch and Gemini caught her lunch. When she was done, she leaned back against the tree, closed her eyes and just relaxed as the wind blew over her body and she could now relax more, since her mind was somewhat at ease about Ulysses' wellbeing.

"I see you're enjoying your time off," Athena said as she appeared and Xena grinned and nodded. "Yea, something tells me it'll be a while before I get any more leisure time like this." Xena said and Athena grinned, "well it won't be a long time but your intuition is correct. "After a week of training, I have another mission for you," Athena said and Xena opened her eyes and looked at the goddess. "How bad?" Xena asked, "not bad at all, I'll give you the details while we train so you can know what to expect," Athena said and Xena nodded. "Athena how is Ulysses?" Xena asked and Athena looked at her chosen, "I was wondering when you were going to get around to asking me that," the goddess said and Xena just looked at her. "He is doing much better thanks to you," Athena said, "me? What did I do?" Xena asked and Athena grinned at her, "you saved him Xena.

That dream you had was more than a dream. Ulysses stood at the window into the Elysian Fields and had he would have walked in, he would have been dead now." Athena said and Xena looked down for a minute then back at Athena, "then that other dream I had was more than a dream as well? Ulysses really did get hurt," Xena said and Athena nodded. "Yes he did but as I said you have saved him, he was on the edge of death and you pulled him back. He'll be just fine now," Athena said and Xena let out a breath and nodded. "That's good to know," Xena said and Athena grinned, "in your heart you already knew that Xena, when it comes to your love for Ulysses you'll learn to listen to your heart." Athena said, "I'll see you bright and early in the morning," Athena said then disappeared before Xena could comment on that.

Xena grinned as she shook her head and relaxed for ten more minutes before she rode Argo back to the Inn then let the horse walk around in the fenced in yard Toris and Lyceus fixed for her. It gave Argo room to run and walk around in instead of being cooped up in the barn all day. When Xena got back to the Inn she continued to help her mother and before she knew it the day was gone. That night when she fell asleep it was with sweet dreams of Ulysses on her mind. When morning came she was ready for her training with Athena. Time seemed to flash by because a week quickly passed by and Xena found herself packing for her next trip. When Athena explained to Xena that all she had to do was escort a group of temple virgins to one of Athena's temples, it seemed easy enough but she had never been around a group of virgins before to know how much trouble they were.

When Xena arrived at the village where the virgins were and she met them all she let out a breath, "oh boy this is going to be a long trip," she said to herself. There were twelve of them all together and they all rode in the back of a wagon with Xena taking point on Argo to make sure things were safe. The whole day they complained about everything from the heat, down to all the rocks on the road that was making the trip in the wagon very bumpy. They made camp an hour before the sun began to set and of course the virgins had something to say about sleeping on the ground. "I'll be back," Xena said as she stood, "what, you're going to leave us here by ourselves?" The head priestess asked and Xena looked at her, "Tamalacus is right there," Xena said as she pointed wagon driver and the priestesses looked at him then back at Xena.

"He's not a warrior," she said and Xena let out a breath, "look I'm not going far. We are well hidden and Gemini will let me know if anyone else is even close around. So don't worry, I'll be right back," Xena said and one of the priestesses went to say something but Xena didn't give her a chance, as she walked away into the woods. When she was away far enough, she let out a breath as she sat down on a boulder, "you didn't tell me virgins could be so annoying," Xena said and Athena smiled at her as she appeared in front of Xena. "All priestesses are annoying to you," Athena said and Xena hunched her shoulders, "well these are working on my last nerve, complaining about everything," Xena said and Athena nodded. "They're Aphrodite's priestesses, I'm protecting them for her, while she deals with a problem," Athena said and Xena looked at Athena.

"How can they be Aphrodite's priestesses when they're virgins?" Xena asked and Athena grinned, "losing their virginity is part of their initiation to becoming priestesses," Athena said and Xena started to ask another question but decided against it and Athena grinned when she saw Xena shake her head. "Who's after them anyway?" Xena asked, "Ares," Athena said and Xena looked at her, "doesn't he have anything else better to do?" Xena asked and Athena nodded, "Aphrodite turned one of his best upcoming warlords into a love sick fool and now he's getting back at her by having his men kidnap her priestesses and plans on deflowering them all himself." Athena said and Xena raised an eyebrow at that, "has it occurred to any of you gods, that you guys have some serious issues?" Xena asked and Athena chuckled at that, "we do indeed," Athena said as she grinned at Xena.

"Anyway I'll be keeping a close eye on things to make sure Ares doesn't try anything underhanded, which knowing him he will," Athena said and Xena nodded. "Yes well, I can be underhanded as well," Xena said and Athena looked at her chosen and nodded. "I know," she said with a grin then disappeared and Xena let out a breath as she thought about heading back to the camp. _'Maybe I can just gag and tie them down the rest of the way'_ Xena thought to herself, "don't even think about it," Xena heard Athena said, her voice ringing through the trees. Xena shook her head as she made her way back to the camp, she wasn't sure if she could take another week of this, which was how long it was going to take them to get to Athena's temple.

**Ithaca…**

Three days passed and Ulysses was indeed doing a whole lot better. His fever hadn't come back, his wound was healing nicely and he was now eating a little more than broth. He still slept a lot but that was to be expected, especially with Pyres continuing to give him herbs to help fight off fever, infection and to help with the pain which all had the side effect of making him sleep. When he was awake he was awake for a half an hour to an hour at the most, and during those times he would sit up in bed with his back propped up on pillows. He was never alone or lacking company since every time he woke up his mother was there, sometimes his father, Camilla was there and sometimes Virgil. He talked to them all, especially Virgil and his father who kept him up on what was going on with the kingdom and he often asked his father what he had planned for Paxos and King Dartanion and his family.

Julian would tell him as far as Paxos went, it was now under Ithaca rule but as far as knowing what to do with Dartanion and his family, he was still working on that. He wasn't sure what to do with the former King of Paxos, he didn't have the information he needed but hopefully he would have it in a couple of days. Until then, Dartanion and his family were basically treated like guests in Julian's palace except for the fact that guards went with them everywhere and kept a constant eye on them. Another day was passing and Ulysses passed it with sleeping but on this day when he woke just before lunch he saw a face at his bedside that he didn't expect. "Hey," Victoria said as she sat down on the bed and he looked at her, "hey," he said and she looked at him. "Would you like some water?" She asked and he nodded then watched as she poured him a cup of water, he eased himself up on his elbows then took the glass from her and drained the cup before handing it back to her.

"Thanks," he said as he lay back down and she nodded, "you're welcome. So how are you feeling?" Victoria asked and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked at her, "tired but the pain has lessened up a little," he said and Victoria nodded. "I was really scared when you got hurt and then when they couldn't get your fever down," Victoria said and Ulysses nodded. "It was a scary situation," Ulysses said. "I'm glad you're okay and that you're getting better," she said and Ulysses grinned. "So am I," he said and Victoria grinned at him. "I'm surprised you're talking to me, you know before this you were still pretty angry with me," Ulysses said and Victoria nodded as she looked down for a moment. "I know," she said, "then what's changed?" Ulysses asked and Victoria looked up at him, "Ulysses I'd like to think that you and I have become great friends," she said and he looked at her and nodded.

"I'd like to think that as well," he said and Victoria nodded, "I'm ashamed for the way I acted, I let my emotions control me but the fact is, I may have been angry with you but you are still my friend and I still care deeply for you. And when I heard what happened to you…everything else didn't matter. All that mattered to me was that you were okay, all that other stuff was pointless," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and nodded. "You're a great friend Victoria," he said and she grinned at him although she was crying in the inside. Victoria sat there and talked to Ulysses a while longer, helping him when lunch was brought in. Virgil came around lunch time and talked with Ulysses as well and when Victoria left to go see about something, so was the excuse that she gave, Virgil looked at Ulysses who let out a breath as he looked up at the ceiling.

"You know when you were delirious with fever you called out for Xena," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at his friend. "I remember seeing her here," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him. "Your parents asked me who she was and what she meant to you," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him intently. "And what did you tell them?" Ulysses asked and Virgil let out a breath, "I told them that I knew who she was and what she meant to you but I wasn't going to tell them. I told your father that you should be the one to tell them," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded. "You're right and I will, just as soon as I'm not stuck in this damn bed and I'm awake for more than an hour," Ulysses said and Virgil grinned at him. "Well get in all the rest you can, there's a lot that needs to be done and trust me there will be plenty enough work left for you," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned at his friend even as his eyes began to droop and Virgil saw he was trying to stay awake.

"Rest, I'll see you for dinner," Virgil said as he stood and Ulysses nodded then closed his eyes and Virgil grinned when he saw Ulysses fall asleep and from there he left the room. "You're healing remarkably fast," Pyres said as she checked Ulysses' wound having changed the bandage on it. "Well I guess it helps to be in good shape before I laid near death's bed," Ulysses said as he sat up on the side of the bed. Two more days had passed and he had gotten his strength back and was doing as much as walking around his room, since that was all he was allowed to do. "And where do you think you're going?" Pyres asked Ulysses as she watched him put his shirt on, "I'm going for a walk," Ulysses said, "oh no you're not, you could reopen those stitches, not to mention you're too weak."

Pyres said and it was as if she were talking to herself as she watched Ulysses, who picked up his boots then raised his leg to put them on and tie them. "Hey what's up?" Virgil asked as he walked into the room and Pyres let out a breath as she looked at him, "thank gods, maybe you can talk some sense into him. He's thinking about going for a walk in his condition," Pyres said and Virgil walked over to Ulysses who looked at him. "Don't look at me like that Virgil, I'm tired of lying in this bed and I'm tired of being in this room. I just want to take a short walk in the garden," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him then turned and looked at Pyres. "What if I go with him to make sure he doesn't overexert himself and if anything should happen I can get him back to the palace quickly?" Virgil suggested and Pyres looked at the both of them then let out a breath as she threw her arms up in defeat.

"Fine, its not like if I told you no you would listen, but the moment he gets tired he should rest and take it easy, I don't want him to reopen those stitches." Pyres said and Virgil nodded then looked at Ulysses who gently stood up as to not jar his body. Virgil walked side by side with Ulysses from the moment they left the room to the moment they were in the garden and even then he didn't leave his side. However with Ulysses not back to his full strength and still being in some pain, the walk was slow but Ulysses appreciated it, anything was better than being cooped up in his room all day. "So I take it you're feeling much better," Virgil said to his friend and Ulysses nodded. "Yea, remind me not to get stabbed in the stomach any more, it's a horrible place," Ulysses said. "I think it's better than your heart," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at him, "you have a point there," he said and they continued to walk and talk until they reached a bench that sat in the garden and they sat down.

"I haven't had any messages have I?" Ulysses asked and Virgil shook his head, "no and I've been checking for myself," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded then let out a breath. "Even though the war is over there is so much more that needs to be done before I can return to Amphipolis." Ulysses said then let out a breath as he looked up at the sky, "Virg I miss her so much," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "I know you do and I'm sure she misses you the same. But just think of it this way, the sooner you rest, you'll get better and you'll be able to help us around here, especially your father and then you'll be able to go to her." Virgil said and Ulysses nodded, "is that your subtle way of telling me I need more rest?" Ulysses asked with a grin and Virgil grinned at him, "hey, its better than saying 'Ulysses you need to lay your ass down' or sicking your mother on you," Virgil said and Ulysses chuckled and nodded.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes both having things on their minds. "You know we have been in wars and battles before and I understood how precious life was but it never really effected me until now." Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him, "what do you mean? Because you got hurt in this one?" Virgil asked and Ulysses shook his head, "no. I've never really had anything to lose until now or anyone who really needed me. I mean yes my parents, Camilla and you would miss me but you guys don't really need me, not in the way that Xena does, in the way that I need her. Over the months that I've gotten to know her and fallen in love with her, I have shared my heart, body and soul with her in a way that I had never shared with anyone else before." Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "you guys have a strong bond I understand," Virgil said and Ulysses shook his head.

"I don't think you do," he said and Virgil looked at Ulysses, "when my breathing started getting shallow, I woke up in this cloudy place and there was this bright light. I walked towards it and the closer I got the more pull I felt from it. When I was finally standing in front of it I just felt so happy and so at peace and I was ready to walk into it when I heard someone call my name and when I turned around it was Xena." Ulysses said then turned his head and looked at his friend, "she came to me and saved me, I was about to walk in to what I'm assuming was the Elysian Fields and had it not been for her I would be but a memory right now. Our bond is stronger than you know, it's stronger than we know," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him.

"Well I don't think it's a bad thing, the bond you guys have, I mean you are in love with each other. Maybe this is just proving to you that you guys are meant to be together," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded. They sat there a while longer then began making their way back to the palace where they ran into Camilla and Victoria. "Hey, I didn't know you were up and around," Camilla said to her brother and he grinned at her. "Well you know me, I can never stay still for long," Ulysses said and Camilla grinned and nodded. "So where are you guys headed?" Victoria asked, "back to my room," Ulysses said. "Well we were just going to grab a bite, why don't you join us?" Victoria suggested and Ulysses looked at Virgil who looked back at him, "it's up to you and how you're feeling," Virgil said.

"Well I'm feeling up to grabbing a bite to eat," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded, "then I guess we'll join you guys," Virgil said and they nodded and began walking towards the dinning hall. When they got there, Ulysses found his parents sitting at their table, "Ulysses you're up," Marguerite said as she looked at her son and he grinned and nodded. "Yea, I was tired of being cooped up in that room so Virgil was kind enough to walk with me in the garden," Ulysses said as he eased himself down in the chair and his father looked at him. "How are you feeling son?" He asked and Ulysses nodded as he looked at his father, "I'm feeling pretty good," he said and Julian nodded as he poured Ulysses a glass of water. "Thanks," Ulysses said and Julian nodded, "so how have things been going with Dartanion?"

Ulysses asked and Julian looked at his son, "well he's still hiding something but little by little we're discovering things. Something's telling me though, that he chose this war as a last resort for something that's going on in his kingdom." Julian said and Ulysses nodded as he ate on a cherry, "so have you decided if you're going to let him become a Satrap or not?" Ulysses asked, "depending on what more I find out, then I'll talk it over with the advisors, I'm hoping you can be there to tell me what you think," Julian said to his son and Ulysses looked at him and nodded. "Of course," Ulysses said, ten minutes passed by and they all sat at the table and talked while they ate. "I have to get back to work," Julian said as he stood then leaned over and gave Marguerite a soft, brief kiss. "I'll see you later," he told her and she grinned and nodded.

"You take it easy," Julian told Ulysses as he placed his hand on the side of Ulysses' face and Ulysses grinned and nodded. When Julian passed by Camilla he placed a kiss on her forehead before he headed out of the dinning hall. Marguerite sat there a while longer watching her children talk and laugh and she looked at Ulysses, watching him smile and laugh and she just thanked the gods that he was here sitting at the table, able to talk, smile and laugh. "Mom," Ulysses called and Marguerite looked at her son, "yea?" She asked, "are you okay? You were just sitting there staring at me," Ulysses said and Marguerite grinned as she nodded. "I'm fine, I was just thinking," she said and Ulysses looked at her and nodded. Ulysses sat there for about five more minutes talking with Virgil, Camilla and Victoria before he turned and looked at his mother again.

"Hey mom will you walk with me back to my room?" Ulysses asked and Marguerite looked at him, "sure, are you feeling okay?" She asked and he grinned and nodded as he stood, "yea I'm feeling fine, just a little tired," he said and Marguerite nodded as she stood as well. "I'll see you guys later," Ulysses said and they all nodded. Ulysses and Marguerite walked out of the dinning hall and headed back to Ulysses' room. "So what were you thinking about like that, back in the dinning hall?" Ulysses asked his mother and she looked at him, "you, how close I came to losing you and how happy I am that you are alive, that I can sit across from you and watch you smile and laugh." Marguerite said and Ulysses nodded, "I'm happy that I can do those things as well," Ulysses said and Marguerite nodded.

They walked in silence until they reached Ulysses room and when they walked into the room Marguerite closed the door behind her. "Ulysses…I'm sorry," she said and he turned and looked at her with a confused expression on his face, "for what?" He asked and she let out a breath as she looked at him, "for asking you to risk your life just so that I didn't have to be lonely," she said and Ulysses grinned at his mother as he headed into his bedroom and she followed him. "Mother you have nothing to be sorry for, you didn't ask anything of me that I wasn't willing to do." Ulysses said, then sat down on his bed and began to unbutton his shirt, "I would gladly give my life for dad, he is the heart and soul of this kingdom as well as our family and I would hate to see a love like what you and he have, destroyed," Ulysses said and by then he had his shirt all the way undone and slowly took it off, as to not jar his stomach.

Marguerite walked over to the bed and helped Ulysses with his boots, "still, I feel that in some way I told you to sacrifice your life so that your father may live. It's important Ulysses that you understand, that was never what I was asking you to do, if anything, I was asking that you take care of yourself and look after your father in the process." Marguerite said to her son and Ulysses nodded as he laid back on the bed letting out a breath because he actually was quite tired. "Mom I know and I never once thought that's what you were asking me to do. I didn't go out there with the thought in my mind that I would have to give my life for my father, I went out there with the thought that I had so much to live for and so did dad and that, that war was going to end that day. And when it ended, dad would walk back into the palace and into your arms and I would see you smile again and our family would still be whole," Ulysses said and Marguerite looked into her son's eyes where she definitely saw a change.

She grinned at him then shook her head, "we really have to talk about how this change in you occurred," Marguerite said and Ulysses grinned at his mother. "Sure but later, I'm kind of tired right now," Ulysses said and Marguerite nodded as she stood then leaned down and placed a kiss on her son's forehead. "Thank you for what you did, what you sacrificed but don't ever do it again," Marguerite said to Ulysses as she looked into his eyes and he grinned at her and nodded. "Yes ma'am and you're welcome," Ulysses said and Marguerite grinned at her son. "Get some rest, I'll see you later," she said and Ulysses nodded then watched as his mother walked out of his bedroom and when he heard the door close to the sitting room, he let out a breath and just laid there and stared up at the ceiling.

After a couple of moments he reached over to his nightstand, his face turned up as a slight wave of pain went through him, he opened the drawer and pulled out his picture of Xena. _'I miss you so much my love'_ Ulysses thought to himself then eased himself on his side and continued to look at Xena's picture as he thought about her until he dosed off, which didn't take long. Another week passed and Ulysses was still taking it kind of easy but since his wound was mostly healed up, he went for light jogs and did light exercising, trying to get himself back into shape. He also helped his father out with things concerning Ithaca and now Paxos, which helped to take a lot of the pressure and stress off of his father. Ulysses set up the security of Ithaca, again making sure everything was going well and then he saw to the security of Paxos and of course Virgil was always at his side to help him.

When he had some free time on his hands, he either spent it getting a little rest, since sometimes he still tired easily depending on what he was doing. If he wasn't getting some rest, he was taking walks in the garden, sometimes by himself and other times with Camilla or Virgil and sometimes even Victoria. He was taking a walk in the garden by himself when he noticed Victoria sitting down on the bench looking out at the water in the pond. "Victoria," he called and she turned her head and looked at him, "what are you doing out here?" He asked and she looked at him, "the same thing you are I suppose," she said and he looked at her then walked over to her and sat down next to her. "Are you okay?" He asked and she nodded as she continued to look out at the water, "I just have some things on my mind," she said and Ulysses nodded as he looked out at the water.

"Don't we all," he said and they sat there in silence for a few minutes. "Is it something you would like to talk about?" Ulysses asked her and she let out a breath as she looked down for a minute then looked at Ulysses. "Can I ask you a question?" She asked and he looked at her and nodded, "of course," he said and she nodded then let out a breath. "Why is it that you don't want me?" She asked as she looked into his eyes and he was surprised at the question, especially since he was caught off guard. "I mean, is there something about me that you don't like? We have so much in common and we understand each other or so I thought, but what I don't understand, is why you don't want me, why you don't love me like I obviously love you?" Victoria asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "Victoria I thought we had passed this, I thought you understood that my decision not to be with you has to do with me and not you."

Ulysses said and Victoria stood and looked at him, "Ulysses we both know that's a load of crap," she said and Ulysses let out a breath. "I don't believe that, there's something else, there's something more that you're not telling me, because if what you said were true, you wouldn't have been interested in me in the beginning. And if you were treating me like any other girl, you and I wouldn't have been together as long as we were and you wouldn't have cared about my feelings." Victoria said and Ulysses shook his head as he stood and looked at her, "you believe what you want, but I tried to tell you in the beginning, I tried to warn you that I wasn't looking for anything permanent with you or any other woman." Ulysses said, "so, you're going to stand there and tell me that you had no feelings for me what so ever, that you don't still have feelings for me?"

Victoria asked and Ulysses looked at her, "no I'm not saying that. I will admit I had feelings for you when we were together, strong feelings of adoration towards you, what we shared and the great friends we had become but I'm not going to confuse that with love. Victoria I couldn't love anyone back then with the way I was, with the things going on in my life and how confused I was. That's why I tried to tell you before we started what we did, that I could not give you what you were looking for, what you wanted." Ulysses said and Victoria looked at him, "I know, believe me I know and I tried my best not to get attached, not to fall for you but I couldn't help myself, the heart wants what the heart wants." Victoria said, then took a few steps forward, "and my heart wants you Ulysses," Victoria said and Ulysses looked into her eyes then shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said and Victoria let out a breath as she turned and walked a couple of feet away. "Victoria I can't and never will be able to give you what you want," Ulysses said in a gentle voice and after a moment, Victoria turned and looked at him, "who is she?" She asked and he looked at her, "who is who?" He asked and Victoria looked into his eyes as she took a step forward, "who is the woman that you are in love with?" She asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "Victoria," Ulysses said in a voice that said he wasn't in the mood for this, especially since it wouldn't help matters any. "Her name wouldn't happen to be Xena would it?" She asked and he looked at her with surprise in his eyes, "I guess it is," she said and Ulysses looked at her. "How did you know?" He asked and Victoria let out a breath, "a day a go I came to see you but you were asleep and as I turned to leave, you whispered her name and there was a grin on your face when you said it."

She said and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked down, "by your reaction I guess it's true," Victoria said then sat down on the bench. "You don't love me and never will because you're in love with someone else," she said and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked up at the sky wondering what he should say or do. "So what does she have that I don't?" She asked, "Victoria please lets not go there," he said and she looked at him. "No, I want to know. She must be an extraordinary woman to have a prince fall in love with her," she said and Ulysses let out a breath. "So what is she, a nobleman's daughter or a princess?" Victoria asked and Ulysses looked at her, "you really want to know?" He asked and she looked at him, "yes, I want to know," she said and Ulysses nodded. "Alright, she's neither," he said then held up his hand before Victoria could say anything else.

"And I'm not having this conversation with you," Ulysses said and Victoria jumped up. "You owe me this much," she said in a forceful tone, as she walked over to him and he looked at her. "I owe you nothing and I'm not going to stand here and talk about my relationship, so you can stand there and criticize it and the woman I'm with. This doesn't concern you Victoria, so leave it alone," Ulysses said as he looked at her and she looked at him. "I gave my heart and body to you, so I think I have a right to know who you've thrown me away for," she said and Ulysses looked at her as he took a step forward. "I said leave it alone," he said with finality in his voice and eyes and Victoria saw that and she looked at him as she folded her arms across her chest. Ulysses looked at her a while longer then turned and headed back to the palace.

When dinner time came around, Ulysses headed to the dinning hall with Virgil and they talked as they walked there. When they arrived they headed straight to their table, where their parents and Camilla already sat getting ready to eat. "Ulysses," Camilla called and he looked at his sister, "yes Camilla," he answered and she looked at him. "I ran into Victoria later on today and she told me about an interesting discussion you and she had," Camilla said and Ulysses looked at her. "And as I said to her, it is not open for discussion," Ulysses said and Camilla looked at him. "I disagree, you have made it a point to hurt my best friend over and over again," Camilla said. "I haven't made it a point to continue to hurt her. I care for Victoria, really I do but only as a friend. I don't know how many times or how many ways I can tell her this. Every time I think that she understands, she comes back and starts the whole thing over again," Ulysses said and Camilla looked at her brother.

"You started this Ulysses," she said and he let out a breath as he looked down for a moment, "I know and I'm regretting this and the fact that she is hurting." Ulysses said, "well if you are, then you would tell her what she wants to know. Who is this Xena?" She asked and Ulysses looked into his sister's eyes, "Listen to me well Camilla, we are not having this conversation," he said and she looked into his eyes. "Oh yes we are," she said and he grinned at her then leaned back in his chair. "Who is she?" Camilla asked again, "Camilla," Julian called and she looked at her father, "your brother is right, this isn't up for discussion," he said and Camilla looked at her father. "How can you say that? I'm tired of him hurting her, so I want to know who she is right now and what makes her so much better than Victoria."

Camilla said half talking to her father and half talking to Ulysses, who she directed the last part to. "As I said before, I don't make it a priority to hurt Victoria, I wish we could just be friends and she would let this go but she won't. You want me to stopping hurting her but this information that you and she just have to know, will do just that. So please for her sake, leave it alone," Ulysses said as he looked into his sister's eyes. "He's asking you nicely and I'm telling you, leave it be Camilla," Julian told his daughter and Camilla looked at her father then let out a breath. "This is some bullshit," Camilla said as she stood, "Camilla," Marguerite said, surprised and both appalled at the language her daughter just used and Camilla didn't say anything else as she walked out of the dinning hall.

Ulysses let out a breath as he picked up his glass and took a drink and he sat there thinking about his sister and Victoria but most of all, why his father had come to his defense. When dinner ended, Ulysses headed back to his room, where he sat down at his desk and began to write a letter to Xena and when he was finished, he sealed it with his seal then took it to the message room. When that was done, he headed back to his room, where he got ready for bed then laid down and it didn't him long to fall asleep. The next morning, he went for a light jog then back to his room to get cleaned up before he headed to breakfast. He met his mother and father half way there and when they entered the dinning hall and walked over to the table Camilla was already sitting there eating her breakfast. However when they arrived she used her napkin to wipe her mouth then stood, "where are you going?"

Marguerite asked her daughter, "I've lost my appetite," Camilla said as she looked at her father and brother then left the table. Ulysses let out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair, never had he seen his sister so mad at he or his father. When he was finished his breakfast, he left and began heading to do some work, "Julian, we need to talk to him about this. Camilla is right about one thing, we need to know who this woman is and what she means to Ulysses," Marguerite said and Julian nodded. "I know and we'll talk to him in a couple of days I promise, I'm just trying to get things situated around here, with Dartanion and with Paxos. It's been almost three weeks since the war ended and there is still so much that needs to be done." Julian said and Marguerite nodded, "it doesn't take much to start a war but it takes a whole lot to fix the damage that one has caused," she said and he nodded. "We have court later on today," Julian told his wife and she grinned and nodded, "I'll be there," she said.

**Amphipolis…**

Once Xena was done with this mission that took longer than she expected because for one, the priestesses were a real pain in the butt and they caused a whole lot of trouble and secondly Ares, wanted those priestess more than either Athena or Xena anticipated. However much a pain they were, she enjoyed her time traveling the countryside, tricking and fighting Ares' men, not to mention Argo and Gemini enjoyed the time away from Amphipolis as well. Two weeks later, Xena returned home where she took a day off to rest and clean her gear and on that day she wrote a letter to Ulysses, having gotten both of his and read them. Her letter would be a couple of pages long as she wrote about how much she missed him and wished he were there, the things that were going on around the Inn and telling him about the last mission she had been on. When she was done she sealed it with her seal and took it to the docks, where the message would be sent off.

When that was done, she took Argo for a run along with Gemini, who ran next to them, trying to keep up and she was also turning out to be a great hunter. When the day was over, she went back to helping her mother out around the Inn, but her mind was still very much on Ulysses, wondering when he was going to come home back to her. Maphias was still bothering her, about how Ulysses would do this and that but she put up with him and ignored his comments, although some of them were hard to ignore because they played on the insecurities she had in the back of her mind, concerning her relationship with Ulysses. In any case, it caused her to be quiet, as she thought about it all and began to wonder if he were ever going to come back, but whenever she had those doubts she would think about Ulysses and all they shared and know that what they felt for each other was real and nothing and no one would ever be able to take their love away.

When lunch time came Xena really wasn't that hungry so she took an apple and went to the barn with Gemini following her. As usual she sat in the stall with Argo and as she sat there she read Ulysses' last letter smiling as she read it.

Dear Xena,

It has been a Tartarus of two weeks and the only thing that has gotten me through it is thinking about you. I read and re-read your letter smiling as I did, especially when you say you feel like the love we have is out of a poem by Sappho or Sophocles. I smile because I feel the same way, yet that doesn't surprise me. You and I often feel the same things, I want what you want, you need what I need; I guess you can say it's a circle of love where we complete each other. As I write you this letter, I am sitting on the balcony in my room and I look up at the stars and think of you. I sit here and think of something romantic to write you. A poem or something that you will love that will make you feel my love and longing for you through the words that I write. Its funny, I used to write songs and the love songs I wrote were usually how I felt or how I wanted to feel and the words came so easy to me back then. But now, now that I have finally found true love, now that you have captured my heart, I am at a loss for words.

Then I don't think that's all together true, I think its more like the love that I feel for you is so much, so wonderful, that I can't possibly put it into words. How can I possibly put into words the millions beyond millions of things that I feel, just when I see your face or hear your voice? How can I explain how I fall into your beautiful eyes when I look into them? That only love could allow me to see the things I see in your eyes and know that how you feel about me is true. How can I tell you, how I feel when you smile at me? It's like the sun shinning down on me and my soul lights up. How can I explain how your touch affects me? The warmth and love that I feel, just from a caress.

Tell me how can I explain the love we make? How I feel when our bodies are touching as well as our hearts and souls. There are no words to describe how I feel about all of these things, no words that will scratch the surface of my love for you. Yet I am filled with this intense need and desire to give you everything you want and need. I want so much to tell you how I feel, to write you a beautiful piece of poetry, that you will remember, always keep and think when you read it years from now, that this is how much I loved you and smile years from now, when I wrap my arms around you to feel how much I still love you but by then our love will have grown to an epic love, a love greater than even the gods themselves. So as I look up at the stars and see your face, you give me inspiration to write down the words that I wish I could speak to you now at this very moment. And these words that I write come from my heart and this is truly how I'm feeling; I'm no Sappho but I hope you like it.

It is strange to think I haven't seen you in a month. I have seen the new moon but not you. I have seen sun sets and sun rises but nothing of your beauty. I miss you like the sun misses the flower, like the sun misses the flower in the depths of winter. Instead of beauty to direct its light to, the heart hardens like the frozen world your absence has banished me to. The pieces of my broken heart are so small that they could be passed through the eye of a needle but hope guides me. It is what gets me through the day and especially the night. Hope that once you are gone it will not be the last time I look upon your face. (A Knight's Tale)

Well that's all I have for right now but in our continuing letters I'll write more just so you will never forget how I feel. Where ever you are I hope you are alone when you read this because I know you'll be smiling. No, in fact I hope you're not alone, then everyone that you're around will know my love for you and that only I can make you smile, the way you are right now. I can see it in my mind now and I smile to myself. Any way, I don't want to make this letter too long so I'll end it now by saying I love you, I miss you, I can't wait to see you and you'll be in my heart. Always and forever.

The King of your heart,

Ulysses

As usual when Xena finished reading the letter she was smiling and thinking of how much she was in love with Ulysses and how much he was obviously in love with her. _'The King of my heart, I like that'_ Xena thought to herself then let out a breath as she stood and began brushing Argo and when she was finished she headed back to the Inn.

**Ithaca….**

It had now been three days later since Ulysses and Camilla had their argument and Camilla was still not talking to her brother and father, avoiding them both. The last thing Ulysses wanted to do was alienate his sister but he really didn't want to discuses the situation with her. As far as he was concerned this was a private matter that she and Victoria didn't need to know about, not until he was ready anyway. It was a couple of hours after lunch and Ulysses had a little time to himself so he went to his room to lay down on the sofa. His wound was almost fully healed but he still tired easily but everyday he pushed his endurance just a little bit until he could get back to his old self. He had dosed off to sleep when there was a knock at the door which woke him. Ulysses let out a breath as he sat up on the sofa then stood and went to answer the door, "mom, dad, what can I do for you?"

Ulysses asked, since his parents stood on the other side of the door. "We need to talk son," Julian said and Ulysses nodded as he walked back over to the sofa and Julian closed the door behind him. Marguerite sat down in the chair and Julian sat down on the arm of the chair both looking at Ulysses, who looked at them. "What's on your mind?" Ulysses asked and Julian let out a breath as he looked at his son, "your mother and I don't quite how to ask you this or go about asking you," Julian said and Ulysses looked at them both. "Is there something wrong?" Ulysses asked and Julian shook his head, "no everything is fine," he said and Ulysses nodded. "Are either one of you sick?" Ulysses asked, "no, its nothing like that sweetheart," Marguerite said to her son. "Okay if its not that, then is there something going on with the kingdom that I don't know about, I mean are we in some kind of trouble?" Ulysses asked and Julian shook his head, "no son we are doing well as far as the kingdom is concerned, we couldn't be more financially stable."

Julian said and Ulysses looked at them both, "so if it has nothing to do with the kingdom or our family, then that can only mean one thing," Ulysses said and he paused as he looked at his parents. "It has to do with me, doesn't it?" Ulysses asked and Julian looked at his son, "yes it does," he said and Ulysses let out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay what now?" He asked, "Ulysses I never thanked you for saving my life, you sacrificed yourself for me and thought nothing of it," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father in a weird way. "You're my father, saving your life required no thought. I love you and that's all there is to it, you would do the same for me," Ulysses said and Julian looked into his son's eyes. "Indeed I would," Julian said then stood and walked over to Ulysses, where he sat down next to him on the sofa and turned to look him in the eyes. "You are my son, my first born and I love you as only a father could love his son that he's so proud of. Anything you ask of me it is yours."

Julian said and Ulysses looked into his father's eyes then grinned as he looked down for a moment. "You know it's funny, when I left, I thought I would never here those words from you, that you are proud of me." Ulysses said and Julian nodded as he placed his hand on the side of Ulysses' face, as he looked into his eyes. "I am proud of you my son, I'm proud of the man you've become, the great prince you've turned out to be and the great King I know you will be. I've always been proud of you Ulysses," Julian said and Ulysses grinned. "Even when we're at each other's throats?" Ulysses asked and Julian grinned, "especially then, those are the times when I've been most proud of you because you stand up to me, speak your mind and let me know, the strong man that you are."

Julian said and Ulysses nodded, "then I speak to you as the man I am now, what have you and mother come here to ask me?" Ulysses asked as he looked at his father then his mother. Julian looked at Marguerite, who cleared her throat as she looked at her son. "There was a lot going on with you when you left and your father and I admit that instead of making the matter better, we made it worse by not really listening to you and what you were trying to tell us. We won't make that same mistake again," Marguerite said and Ulysses just looked at continued to listen. "That tattoo on your arm, will you please tell us what it says," Marguerite asked and Ulysses looked confused. "You guys came here because you wanted to know what my tattoo says?" Ulysses asked, "we're getting to what we really came here to ask you about, just please bare with us and tell us what it says."

Julian said and Ulysses let out a breath and nodded, "alright, it says Dangerously in love," Ulysses said and Marguerite looked at her son and nodded. "Then there is a dash, then an X," she said and he looked at his mother. "Camilla noticed it when she was helping to keep your fever down," Marguerite said. "Okay but what does that have to do with anything?" Ulysses asked, "Xena," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father. "You called her name out quite a bit when your fever was high," he said and Ulysses hunched his shoulders. "So?" He asked, "so, we were wondering if you would tell us who she is and what she means to you?" Marguerite said to her son and Ulysses let out a breath, "Ulysses we know this is not something you really want to talk about with us but we would really like to know," Julian said and Ulysses shook his head. "No its okay, I should have told you sooner rather than later, I was just waiting for a good time and to be honest I didn't know quiet how to tell you."

He said then let out a breath as he began to tell his parents of Xena, "I left here feeling alone, empty and lost and I was looking for what I was missing. It seemed that something was calling to me but I didn't know what. I didn't know what I was looking for until we stopped in Amphipolis. Virgil and I were escorting a guy and his family there since the roads they were taking could be dangerous and were. When they were there safely, we went to look for an Inn, when I ran into the most beautiful woman," Ulysses said then chuckled at himself as he looked down for a moment. "I actually thought she was a goddess," he said and Julian grinned at his son. "Her name was Xena and she stole my heart the moment I looked into those gorgeous blue eyes of hers," Ulysses said. "This was the first time I was actually afraid to talk to a woman. There was just something about her that made me weak in the knees and my heart race a mile a minute.

I talked to her, asked her out for dinner and so we began to get to know each other. Her mother owns the Inn there, so I asked could Virgil and I hang around and do some things around the Inn and help her sons in the fields. We did that and everyday I spent time with Xena, before either one of us knew it, days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and before we knew it we had fallen in love with each other." Ulysses said then looked at his parents as they looked at him, "so she is responsible for this change in you," Marguerite said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "She is, she told me that I had to stop running from my problems and fears, to face them head on, to face you head on," Ulysses said as he turned and looked at his father. "I needed to face you head on, so that you could see the great man I had become, that I don't need to be dictated to like a child," Ulysses said and Julian nodded.

"So she's a commoner," Julian said, "no she's more than that," Ulysses said as he stood and looked at his parents. "She is an extraordinary woman, strong minded and strong willed. She has so many talents and she is Athena's chosen," Ulysses said and Julian looked at his son as he stood. "She has been chosen by the goddess?" Julian asked and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "she is a great woman father and you want to know what she means to me. She is the Queen of my heart, my soul and I love her with all that I am," Ulysses said as he looked into his father's eyes and Julian looked into his son's eyes then at Marguerite who stood and walked over to them. "If you meant what you said, then as soon as things are settled with Paxos, I would like for us to go to Amphipolis so you can meet her," Ulysses said as he looked from his father to his mother pleading with his eyes. "I don't see why not, it would be a pleasure to meet the woman who has stolen our son's heart," Marguerite said as she stood close to Julian wrapping her arm around his back and placing her hand on his chest.

"Your mother is right. Everything with Paxos should be finalized in two more weeks, by then I'll be able to leave Camilla and Gregory in charge of things while we are gone." Julian said as he placed his arm around Marguerite, "I don't know if Camilla will agree to that," Ulysses said. "Don't worry about Camilla, we'll talk to her and explain things to her but she's right, you should tell Victoria, she needs to know and she should hear it from you," Marguerite said and Ulysses looked at his mother and nodded. "Alright I'll tell her but in my own time," Ulysses said and she nodded. "Well that's all we wanted, we'll see you for dinner," Julian said as they began to head to the door and Ulysses nodded as he with his parents to the door, closing it behind them.

He let out a breath when they were gone then sat back down on the sofa, _'well at least that's over with and it wasn't half as bad as I expected it to be,' _Ulysses thought to himself then laid down for about a half an hour before he headed to his father's office, where he and a couple of advisors talked about some of the changes that would be made concerning Paxos and from there Julian and Ulysses went to talk to Dartanion, to see if they could get any more out of him. Julian had also asked Marguerite to see what she could get out of Dartanion's wife, which was nothing, since Dartanion rarely told her whole stories about serious problems such as these, with Paxos. When dinner time came, Camilla was actually talking to Ulysses though she didn't mention the argument they had or what their parents spoke to her about. A couple of days passed and King Julian did learn a little bit more of what was behind Dartanion and the decision he made to start a war. He had the former King of Paxos brought to his office and confronted him on what he knew.

"Have a seat Dartanion," Julian said and Dartanion looked at Julian then took a seat in the chair in front of Julian's desk while Julian sat on the edge of the desk. "Leave us," Julian told the guards who bowed and walked out of the door closing it behind them. My spies have learned quite a few things since I have taken over Paxos. For instance, I have learned that your kingdom was doing well with everything, including trading so there was really no reason to start a war over it," Julian said as he looked at Dartanion who looked at him then looked away. "I also know you're not the type of man to be greedy or bite of more than you can chew. Which leads me to wonder, what would make a smart man such as yourself and a great king, wage a war with a neighboring kingdom, with whom you have no problem with?"

Julian said and Dartanion continued to look away, "then I asked myself, why would I do something like you have just done? And the only reasonable answer I could come up with, that would cause me or a man such as yourself to do something like this, would be to protect that which he loves and cares for the most. Your family and your kingdom," Julian said and Dartanion turned his head and looked into Julian's eyes, "let's say you are right. What would you do to this man and his family, to his kingdom?" Dartanion asked and Julian looked at him, "still concerned about your family and kingdom, although you are powerless to help either one? Definitely not the type of man to do what you have done," Julian said then let out a breath and walked behind his desk looking down at his documents.

"Let's say that I have information as to what made this man act the way he did," Julian said, "then you would do well to burn that information, forget what you know and never speak of it again." Dartanion said and Julian looked at him, "What has you so afraid Dartanion? What has made you surrender your kingdom to me in a last effort of protection, without being obvious?" Julian asked and Dartanion looked into his eyes, "please Julian for both of our families sakes, forget about what you have found, what you are getting yourself into is unlike anything any of us have ever dealt with." Dartanion said, "damn it Dartanion," Julian said as he became frustrated about what Dartanion was keeping from him, sensing that it was dangerous and he felt that he really needed to know what it was. "You have involved me in whatever it is that's going on. If you needed my help, why didn't you just come and ask for it?" Julian asked. "Because I couldn't," Dartanion shouted as he stood and looked into Julian's eyes where Julian saw a great amount of fear.

"I couldn't alright, so I did what I had to do to protect my family and my kingdom and I have it from a good source that you won't be bothered by this threat, not yet, not when you hold so much power." Dartanion said and Julian looked into his eyes, "what have you gotten me in to Dartanion?" Julian asked as he looked into the man's eyes, wondering what could cause as much fear as he saw in his eyes. "I'm sorry Julian, this was the only way to save what I love most," Dartanion said then let out a breath as he sat back down and ran his fingers through his hair. Julian let out a breath and looked down at the documents on his desk then back at Dartanion, "there will come a time when you will have to face this fear that has been instilled in you. I can not fight or help you fight an enemy I know nothing about," Julian said. "Every night I pray to the gods that we won't have to fight them at all, that they'll just go away and leave us be." Dartanion said and Julian looked at him once more and let out a breath.

"Dartanion you are a friend but my kingdom and my family comes before anything else. I understand that what you did was for the good of your kingdom and family but that does not change things. You started a war," Julian said and Dartanion nodded as he looked into Julian's eyes, "I understand and I take full responsibility for my actions, I just ask that you don't punish my family for my choices," Dartanion said and Julian looked at him. "You and your family will be fine Dartanion," Julian said as he stood with a document in his hand then held it up for Dartanion to see. "This is a proclamation stating that Paxos now belongs to me and is under Ithaca rule. I am appointing a Satrap to see to the things that I cannot, obviously I can't be in two places at the same time and I don't think Marguerite would appreciate us moving to Paxos."

Julian said then sat the parchment down as he sat on the side of the desk and continued to look into Dartanion's eyes. "As I said before, I can't return your kingdom to you nor do you want me to. I am however, willing to appoint you as the Satrap and you would see to things as you usually did but in the end all of the major decisions would be left up to me. You would have to send weekly reports and there will be surprise inspections, if I find that there are laws and rules that need to be changed or corrected, then I will do as I see fit. For the most part Paxos will stay as it is but there will be some things that will be changed," Julian said and Dartanion looked at him. "Now the question is, do you want to be a Satrap for Paxos?" Julian asked and Dartanion looked at him, "can I think about it?" He asked, "you have one day," Julian said then stood and walked back behind his desk.

"After that, if you can't make a decision, I will appoint a satrap of my choosing and you and your family can either chose to stay here on Ithaca or go somewhere of your choice." Julian said then sat down and Dartanion looked at him then stood and headed for the door, "Dartanion I need your decision an hour before lunch tomorrow," Julian said and Dartanion nodded then walked out of the door and was escorted back to his room by the guards that brought him to Julian's office. Julian sat at the desk reading the report from his spies on what they found, "come," he said when there was a knock at the door. Ulysses walked into his father's office, closing the door behind him, "I saw Dartanion just left," Ulysses said and Julian looked up at his son and nodded. "Did you get anything out of him?" Ulysses asked as he sat down in the chair and Julian let out a breath as he leaned back in his chair.

"He basically admitted to starting this war out of fear, fear for his family and for his kingdom," Julian said. "What is he afraid of, that we would have taken it from him?" Ulysses asked and Julian shook his head, "he won't tell me who he's afraid of or for what reason. Whatever the cause is, it has instilled a great amount of fear in him and I believe in his wife as well," Julian said. "So what? He started a war with us so he wouldn't have to fight one with whoever is scaring him?" Ulysses asked and Julian shook his head, "well that's part of it and the other part of it is that he says that he has it on good authority that whatever the threat, it won't be bothering us none too soon because of the power we hold." Julian said and Ulysses looked at him, "what power?" He asked and Julian shrugged his shoulders, "beats the Tartarus out of me. Dartanion might know but he's not saying anytime soon," Julian said.

"So has he agreed to be the Satrap for Paxos?" Ulysses asked, "he hasn't said yes or no. He wanted some time to think it over, his fear might cause him to reject the offer though." Julian said then leaned forward placing his folded hands on the desk as he looked into his son's eyes, "whatever his decision, I want you to handle the security on Paxos. I want to know what and who comes and goes and make sure we have some of our best spies over there. I want to keep a close eye on things, I'm going to find out whatever is going on, so we can at least have a head's up if we get in trouble." Julian said and Ulysses nodded as he stood, "it will be done," he said then headed for the door. "Oh and mother told me to tell you don't be late for dinner," Ulysses said with a grin and Julian grinned back as he nodded then watched his son leave his office. Julian let out a breath as he looked down at the documents before he stood and placed them in a box which had a lock on it.

He walked over to one of the book cases in his office and took a couple of scrolls off of the second highest shelf. Once that was done he pulled the large stone out of the wall which was a small compartment where he placed the box, then placed the stone back and finally the scrolls. When he was finished, he saw to a couple more things that took up his time quite nicely and before he knew it, it was time for dinner. The next day came and it was two hours before lunch when Dartanion informed Julian that he had his decision so Julian called a meeting with all of his advisors, including Ulysses. Dartanion sat two chairs down from Julian, "what is your decision?" Julian asked and Dartanion let out a breath as he looked into Julian's eyes, "I agree to be the Satrap," he said and Julian nodded. "And you accept and understand all the conditions which will go with the position you have accepted?"

Julian asked and Dartanion nodded, "I do," he said and Julian nodded then signed the bottom of the parchment he showed him yesterday. When he was finished he pushed the parchment over to Lucius who signed it, then pushed it over to Ulysses who signed it, and lastly it was handed to Dartanion, who signed it as well and then the document was passed back to Julian. "You and your family will return back to Paxos first thing in the morning, I'm sending a few of my junior advisors with you and they'll stay there for a couple of weeks to make sure things are running smoothly." Julian said and Dartanion nodded, "thank you, you have showed me more kindness and mercy than I deserve," Dartanion said and Julian looked at him. "Take care Dartanion, just because you have done this, does not mean that threat you fear is still gone. If you know anything or if you need my help, please ask for it," Julian said and Dartanion nodded then bowed his head in respect, "of course my lord," he said and Julian nodded then looked at the gentlemen sitting at the table.

"Gentlemen this meeting is adjourned," Julian said then turned and looked at Lucius, "I need to speak with you," Julian said and Lucius nodded and stayed behind once everyone was gone. "What can I do for you my lord?" Lucius asked and Julian looked at his head advisor and trusted friend, "in a week or so, Ulysses, Marguerite and myself will be traveling to Amphipolis. It seems my son has fallen in love and wishes us to meet this woman. Camilla will stay here and of course since she will be my only blood family left here, she will rule while I am away. You and Gregory will help her and make sure everything runs smoothly," Julian said and Lucius nodded. "Of course," he said, "so is this thing with Ulysses and this woman serious?" Lucius asked and Julian shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know but knowing Ulysses and the infatuation my son has for women, I doubt so. This is his first time being in love, I'm sure in time it'll pass," Julian said and Lucius nodded as he looked at Julian.

"You sound as if you don't want it to work out," Lucius said and Julian let out a breath. "Its not that I don't want it to work out, it's that it can't. She's a commoner, a peasant and though I don't have anything against them…" Julian said and Lucius nodded. "You don't have to explain, believe me I understand," he said and Julian nodded. When Ulysses left the council room he headed to the garden where he had another appointment. He walked into the garden where he saw Victoria sitting down in a chair talking with Camilla. When he walked in they both looked up, "you wanted to speak to me," Victoria said and Ulysses nodded. "I'm gonna go inside," Camilla said as she prepared to stand and Ulysses shook his head. "Its okay you can stay," he said and she looked at him as he walked over and sat down in the chair across from them.

"Victoria it's important to me that you understand that you are very important to me and I care for you deeply. I love you as a close and dear friend but that's all that can ever be between you and I and that's not because I have found someone else. It really does have more to do with the man that I was then, when you and I got involved and the man that I am now. For my part, it was wrong of me to take from you what I did and use you for my own purposes, I needed a shoulder to lay on and you were there and you understood me and what I was going through. You are a great friend, I don't doubt that." He said and Victoria nodded her head, "but being friends is all you want from me," she said and he looked at her. "Yes I know, is that all you wanted to tell me?" She asked in a bitter voice and he looked at her and let out a breath.

"I asked you here because I felt that you needed to know that there was another woman in my life and you deserved to hear it from me and not someone else." He said and she looked at him, "so you're going to tell me about her now?" She asked and he looked into her eyes, "only if you really want to know but I don't think me telling you about Xena is going to make you feel any better or settle things between you and I." Ulysses said and she looked at him, "I think it will settle things," she said and he looked into her eyes and saw that she really wanted to know so he let out a breath and nodded. "As you already know her name is Xena and as I told you before, she's neither a nobleman's daughter or royalty, she is a commoner," he said and Victoria grinned an ironic grin as she turned her head to the side and Ulysses paused for a moment but continued.

"She lives in Amphipolis where her mother owns the inn and her brothers tend to the fields. She is a strong woman in both body and mind and she is extremely beautiful. She has many talents…" he said but didn't finish since Victoria cut him off. "What does she have that I don't? What made you choose her over me?" She asked and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked at her, "I'm not going to tell you that," he said. "And why not?" She asked, "because I'm not going to help you beat up yourself or destroy yourself, the person you are, because you're trying to please me. I'm tired of hurting you Victoria and it seems every word that comes out of my mouth lately, are words that are hurting you." Ulysses said and Victoria shook her head as she stood, "you know what? It's fine because it's your loss. You chose a peasant over someone like me, I may not be strong in body but I am in mind and I have many talents, not to mention I've had more than my share of men who've told me that I'm beautiful.

I love you Ulysses, the gods know I do but I'm tired of being hurt by you. I should've listened to Camilla when she said you were just using me, that you would throw me away like you did all the others, but I was stupid enough to think that it would be different with me because I wasn't as stupid as those other girls. It turns out I'm worse than they are because I fell in love with you and you wanted nothing from me but my body." She said as she looked at Ulysses and as she stood there she shook her head as tears filled her eyes when she thought about how stupid, foolish and gullible she had been. "Victoria," Ulysses said as he stood and took a step towards her but she backed away from him, "no, don't touch me. Don't even come near me," she said and he looked at her as tears rolled down her face. "I hate you," she said then stormed back into the palace and Ulysses stood there looking at the place where she once was and then he closed his eyes as he thought about what happened.

He opened his eyes when he felt a hand on his arm and turned his head to see his sister, "you tried," she said and he looked into her eyes. "I never meant to hurt her," he said and Camilla nodded. "I know but it's just going to take her some time to get over this, she doesn't really hate you Ulysses, she's just really upset." She said and he let out a breath and nodded, "I'm gonna go see about her," Camilla said and Ulysses nodded. "Will you be okay?" She asked and he gave her a small grin as he nodded, "yea I'll be fine, go and see about her," he said and Camilla nodded then turned and headed back into the palace. Ulysses was upset that he had hurt Victoria like he did and that she was so upset with him but by the end of the week, his world brightened up when he got a letter from Xena. He received it just as he was walking back to his room from dinner and when he got it, he rushed to his room, quickly got ready for bed then walked out onto the balcony where he sat down on the ground, broke the seal on the letter and began reading it.

He was basically smiling throughout the entire letter, from the moment she told him how much she missed him, up to the part where she was telling him about her last mission with Aphrodite's virgin priestesses. Ulysses reread that letter two more times before he went to bed. Usually he would write to Xena as soon as he got her letter but he thought since he would be seeing her soon he would surprise her that way. He placed her letter in a special box where he placed the rest of the letters she had written him, then pulled out Xena's picture and looked at it. "Goodnight my love," he whispered to it, then placed the parchment back in the drawer. That night he went to sleep with Xena on his mind as he often did but on this night, he dreamed great dreams of her.

A week passed by quickly for Ulysses and everyday it got closer to the day he and his mother and father would leave to go and see Xena, the more excited he became. It had been a month since the war and Ulysses was completely healed with a thin, white scar where the wound was. He now went for runs and did his regular exercises, he even sparred with Virgil and some of the soldiers. Things were going well on Paxos and even better on Ithaca, so Julian agreed that they would leave two days from now and Ulysses couldn't argue with that. Virgil however, had to convince his father to let him go and it finally came down to him telling his father, he was a grown man and he would do what he pleased without asking his father for permission. That of course started an argument between Virgil and his father. Ulysses was still upset that Victoria wasn't speaking to him and she was definitely avoiding him since he didn't see her at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

He would ask Camilla if she were okay and all she would say, is that she's working through it in her own way and in her own time. He just wished she would understand but when he thought about it from her view, he could understand how she was feeling so he gave her the space and time she needed. He just hoped that hopefully she would come around because he meant what he said, she was indeed a great friend and he cared for her deeply. It was two days before Ulysses would leave and he was already packing. He still had some of his clothes from when he stayed in Amphipolis, so he packed them and some of his regular clothes that he wore around home. "So Ulysses, are you ready to go?" Virgil asked his friend since they were on the second day and would be leaving early the next morning.

"Man, I'm more than ready," he said and Virgil grinned as he nodded. "I can't wait to get some of Cyrene's great cooking," he said and Ulysses grinned at him. "Xena makes the best sweet rolls," Ulysses said, "you mean the ones with the strawberry filling?" Virgil asked and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "those are good," he said and Ulysses nodded. "So she can cook?" Marguerite asked her son and Ulysses nodded as he grinned, "can she cook? Once you've tasted her and her mother's food, you'll be wanting to get rid of our good for not cooking as well as they do." Ulysses said and Virgil chuckled at that. That evening, he asked Camilla about Victoria one last time and she told him the same. Ulysses just hoped that things would be better when he came back. When morning came, Ulysses was up bright and early and he went for a quick run before he came back to his room, where he took a quick shower, then got ready.

He and his family had a quick bite for breakfast and then once Julian made sure everything was in order and things would be taken care of while they were gone, they left the palace where two carriages waited for them. Of course since they were royalty they wouldn't be traveling alone, seven of the best royal guards would be traveling with them for their protection. The carriages took them to the docks where they boarded their ship, and once their belongings were on the ship, they began to sail away and they were on their way to Amphipolis.

**Continued In**

**Chapter Nine: Reunited**

**Positive and Negative feedback is welcomed and much appreciated.**

**So please let me know how I'm doing **

**and if there is anything more you would like to see. ******


	9. Chapter 9

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. Just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played, so the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if it's too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination. lol 

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together. There is no more violence than your regular Xena episode.

**Chapter Nine: Reunited**

Xena had a week off before Athena approached her about another mission and before Xena or anyone else knew it, she was gone on yet another mission. This one however who less aggravating than the last but this one also called for a lot more fighting and outsmarting the enemy which she didn't mind at all, it just tested her skills and helped to sharpen her skills where she may be lacking. On this mission she was recovering a stolen artifact for Athena, which had been stolen by a warlord, who was trying to gain territory and respect among the other cut throats. It wasn't as simple as Xena thought it was going to be. In fact she had to go undercover and make her way up to the warlord which took two almost three weeks. When she finally had the artifact in her hands, she thought everything was done and over with but a battle broke out and all she could do was thank Athena that she had taught her what she did.

Athena also sent Xena some help in the form of her Elite Archers and Xena walked away from that battle with a small cut on her upper arm but nothing more. "Why don't you gods keep things like this up there on Olympus?" Xena asked Athena as she handed the goddess the chalice and Athena grinned at Xena. "We can't keep everything up there and the mortals that take care of our temples see it as a huge honor to be trusted with something so important. In other cases, some of the precious artifacts we leave in temples or more than just artifacts to some. Some are seen as a symbol, a sign of worship," Athena said and Xena nodded. "Yea I can see that but you guys need to tighten up security. Some of these things in the wrong hands can do a lot of damage," Xena said and Athena nodded. "I agree, which is why this one is going back to Olympus with me," Athena said, "what about the others?" Xena asked and Athena grinned at her, "that's what I have you for," she said and Xena grinned as she rolled her eyes.

"So if you drink from that cup then you're immortal huh?" Xena asked and Athena nodded, "yes and its not a cup it's a chalice, Zeus made it for Hera." Athena said and Xena nodded, "why do you ask? Would you like to be immortal?" Athena asked her chosen and Xena looked at her, "immortality does have its perks but knowing you can't die and that you're fated to watch all those that you love die is not something I want. So to answer your question, no," Xena said and Athena nodded as she looked at her. She looked at Xena's arm then reached out her hand to heal it when Xena stopped her, "leave it, it reminds me that I have to train harder," Xena said and Athena looked at her then slightly bowed her head in acknowledgement. "I'll be back in twenty minutes, be ready to go by then," Athena said and Xena nodded then watched the goddess disappear.

Xena headed back to her camp where she tended to the minor cut on her arm which didn't need stitches. She just cleaned it, placed a slave on it to help with the healing and infection then wrapped it in a bandage. When she was done she packed up her things placing her bags on Argo then decided to take her and Gemini for one last run which they all enjoyed. Athena brought Xena back to Amphipolis where she brought Argo to the stables, fed her, gave her water and a nice rub down. "See you later girl," Xena told the horse and Argo neighed at her. Xena grabbed her bags and left the stables with Gemini hot on her heels, "I see you're happy to be home," Xena said to the wolf who was running back and forth. When Xena walked into the kitchen her mother turned and looked at her with a grin and relief on her features, "Xena you're home," she said as she wiped her hands on her apron then walked over and hugged her daughter.

When the hug ended she pulled back and looked over Xena like she did all the time when she came home from a mission. "You're hurt," she said as she saw the bandage on Xena's arm and Xena shook her head. "It's just a scratch," Xena said, "well go and put your things away and get cleaned up, dinner should be done soon." Cyrene said and Xena nodded before she placed a kiss on her mother's cheek, then headed down to her room. Once she was in her room she sat her bags down on the floor next to her bed and began taking off her armor and putting on more relaxing clothes. Gemini laid down on the small rug in front of Xena's bed and Xena let out a breath as she laid down on the bed thinking about how good it was to be home. She had planned on just resting her eyes but the last couple of weeks had been stressful and tiring on her and before she knew it she was asleep and she slept straight through dinner time.

Cyrene had come down to tell her it was time for dinner but when she saw that Xena was asleep, she let her sleep and just placed some food on the side for her. Xena however didn't wake until morning, the smell of her mother's wonderful cooking waking her. "Well good morning sleepy head," Lyceus said to his sister as Xena sat down at the table. "Why didn't you wake me for dinner?" Xena asked and Cyrene looked at her daughter, "it was obvious that you were tired and you needed the rest, so I let you sleep." She said and Xena nodded, "so tell us about your last mission," Lyceus said and Xena smiled at her brother, he always wanted to know what kind of things she did on her missions and what things were like. So over breakfast Xena told them the story of what she had to go through to get the chalice back.

When breakfast was over, Xena helped with the morning rush and Lyceus and Toris tended to the fields which was mainly plowing and planting, since they were in the fall and getting ready for the winter. Meanwhile on a ship at sea, Ulysses couldn't wait until they reached Amphipolis, although it would take them a week with the wind they were getting. To help the time pass by quicker, he and Virgil helped out around the ship doing things and he was surprised when his father began to help as well. "What? You think I never get my hands dirty?" Julian asked his son and Ulysses grinned as he looked at his father. "So you're really excited about seeing this woman again," Julian stated and Ulysses grinned as he nodded. "Yea, I miss her so much," Ulysses said and Julian nodded.

"Well your mother and I are quite anxious to meet her ourselves," Julian said and Ulysses looked at him. "Why is that?" He asked and his father grinned at him, "to see how you are around her. If you're this happy when you're going to see her the gods only know how happy you'll be when you're actually around her." Julian said to his son and Ulysses grinned at his father. The days went by fast but not fast enough for Ulysses but when he learned that they were a day away he was counting the hours by until they would actually arrive. The days for Xena were passing by fast as well and she felt her attitude being light and happy as if something good were about to happen, she did notice at night when she went to sleep that she could feel Ulysses' presence in the stone on her necklace getting stronger and stronger.

In fact she had a lot more energy that when she was done helping her mother around the Inn, she often took Argo for a run and when she let Argo rest she did some sword drills, sometimes Athena would appear and practice with her. Days when Xena was training with Athena she told Athena to go all out or when she was training with the Elite Archers she went all out on them which pushed them harder especially with Athena yelling at them. At night she often took a shower then laid down on her bed thinking about Ulysses and the wonderful times they had together and when she would see him again, but little did she know she would be seeing him sooner than she thought. "My lord, we'll be in Amphipolis by mid day," the captain of Julian's ship said and Julian nodded his head then went below deck to the mess area where Marguerite, Ulysses and Virgil were eating.

"Dylan said we'll be there by mid day," Julian said as he sat down at the table and Ulysses nodded as he sat there and thought how it would feel to have Xena in his arms again or to smell her sweet scent. _'Gods I miss that woman'_ he thought to himself then looked at Virgil. "Let's spar a little bit," Ulysses said as he stood and Virgil nodded as he stood as well and they headed up deck. They moved off to the spot where there was a lot of room and began sparring, their sparring was between medium and heavy since Ulysses still had a few restrictions left from his wound. They practiced for a good while, long enough to break quite a sweat and when they were done they both headed below where they got cleaned up and since it was chilly because they were approaching winter, Ulysses put on his clothes that he would wear around the palace they just weren't as fancy.

Before they knew it mid day was upon them and they were sailing up to the docks. When they had a spot for their ship, Ulysses already had his bags in his hands and was ready to get off of the ship and head straight to the Inn. When the plank was let down so that they could walk off, Ulysses was the first down and Virgil grinned as he followed his friend, Marguerite and Julian followed behind them. _'I'm back'_ Ulysses thought to himself as he grinned from ear to ear. "Come on you guys, wait to you see the Inn, its one of the best I've ever seen," Ulysses said to his mother and father who grinned at their son. "We're coming Ulysses," his mother said and Ulysses nodded as he watched the guards come off of the ship. Ulysses led the way to the Inn and as they passed by shops and stands there were a few people who looked at them and there were others who smiled and welcomed Ulysses back.

"The people seem friendly here," Julian said and Virgil grinned as he turned and looked at his king, "they are," he said and Julian nodded. When they finally reached the Inn Ulysses let out a breath as he stood and looked at it then walked inside followed by the others. Ulysses looked around and didn't see Xena but he grinned when he saw Cyrene walk out of the kitchen, "hey there stranger," Ulysses said after he walked over to the bar. Cyrene turned and looked at the person who was speaking to her and she grinned when she saw it was Ulysses. "Ulysses," Cyrene said as she walked from behind the bar and he met her half way then hugged her. Ulysses parents stood off to the side and watched the interaction. "It's good to see you," Ulysses said when the hug ended and Cyrene grinned at him, "it's good to see you as well, we have missed you around here."

Cyrene said then turned and looked at Virgil who smiled at her, "I'm happy to see you Cyrene and so is my stomach," Virgil said and Cyrene chuckled as she hugged him. When the hug ended Cyrene looked behind Ulysses to see his parents, "I see you brought some people with you," Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded as he held his hand out to his mother. "Cyrene this is my mother, Marguerite, mother this is Cyrene, she's Xena's mother and a fantastic, generous, loving, wise woman and great cook," Ulysses said and Cyrene smiled at him as she shook Marguerite's hand. "Your son is exaggerating some," Cyrene said and Marguerite smiled. "Its nice to meet you," Marguerite said, "and this old man here is my father, Julian," Ulysses said as Julian walked up next to his son.

"You better watch it before I show you just how old I am," Julian said to his son with a grin on his face then grinned at Cyrene as he took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. "It's nice to meet you," Julian said and Cyrene grinned as she nodded. "And you, it is an honor to have the King and Queen of Ithaca in my Inn," Cyrene said, "and it's a very beautiful Inn. Just by looking around it's a lot better than most that we've been in," Marguerite said and Cyrene grinned. "Thank you, I pride myself in keeping my Inn up and in good condition, this place means a lot to me," Cyrene said and they nodded. "Cyrene where is she, where is Xena?" Ulysses asked unable to contain himself any longer and Cyrene grinned at him. "She's training but she should be back in a little bit, since its time for lunch," she said then looked back to his parents.

"Speaking of which, the lunch rush is about to start. So how about I get you guys a table and some rooms so you can put your things away before you eat?" Cyrene suggested and they grinned and nodded, "that would be great. How much would five rooms cost?" Julian asked and Cyrene shook her head, "don't worry about. After all, I think of Ulysses and Virgil as sons and therefore you are family," she said. "Ulysses is right, you are a nice and generous woman, but we insist. We wouldn't want to take away from your business," Marguerite said and Cyrene looked at her. "If you insist but only your rooms, your meals and everything else will be of no cost," Cyrene said and Marguerite grinned at her. "Very well, I see you're a negotiating woman," Marguerite said and Cyrene grinned, "as are you," she said and Marguerite grinned at her.

Cyrene went into the kitchen where she grabbed the keys to their rooms and Ulysses showed his parents up to their rooms. When they had placed their things down they went back downstairs where Cyrene showed them to a table in the back, off to the side for privacy and she also brought something out for them to drink. Ten minutes later Toris and Lyceus came in from the fields for lunch and they went down to their rooms where they got cleaned up then went into the dinning area, over to where they saw their mother sitting and talking with people they didn't recognize but they did recognize to other people at the table. "Ulysses, Virgil," Lyceus said and they both grinned as they stood and gave both Lyceus and Toris a hug. "When did you guys get back?" Toris asked, "about ten minutes ago," Ulysses said.

"Marguerite, Julian these are my sons, Toris and Lyceus," Cyrene introduced her sons to Julian and Marguerite, "Julian and Marguerite are Ulysses parents," Cyrene explained to her sons. "It's nice to meet you both," Lyceus said and the grinned at them, "so that means you're the King and Queen of Ithaca?" Toris asked and Julian grinned as he nodded, "yes we are," he said and Toris nodded. "Wow," he said and they all chuckled at him, they pulled up chairs to the table and sat down and talked with the others. After a couple of minutes Ulysses leaned over to Lyceus, "can I talk to you and Toris privately for a minute?" Ulysses whispered to Lyceus who grinned and nodded. Lyceus stood and nodded with his head to Toris to follow him into the kitchen. A minute after they left the table, Ulysses followed them and they went down stairs by the bedrooms to talk.

"So what did you want to talk to us about?" Lyceus asked and Ulysses looked at them both as he let out a breath. Meanwhile on Athena's training grounds, Xena was sparring with the archers when she felt something strong, very strong pull at her. "Stop," Xena said, "there's no stopping in a battle Xena," Athena said and that gave the archers permission to continue. _'I know that feeling, it's Ulysses, he's back,'_ Xena thought to herself then ducked as an archer swung at her head.

Xena had to get to Ulysses fast, so she fought them off hard and fast until they were all on the ground unconscious, moaning in pain or trying to pick themselves up. "I said enough," Xena said in a forceful tone as she looked at Athena who looked at her. "Leave us," Athena said to her archers who helped each other off of the ground and Xena grabbed her towel and wiped her face off then her sword before she sheathe it. "What has gotten in to you?" Athena asked her chosen and Xena looked at her, "I have to go," Xena said and Athena looked at her. "You have to finish training," Athena said and Xena grinned as she shook her head. "Ulysses is back," Xena said and Athena looked at her, "how do you know?" She asked and Xena grinned as she looked at her goddess, her friend, her mentor. "I can feel him," she said with a smile, "I can feel him. He's back," Xena said as she looked at Athena.

"Please Athena take me back, I have to see him. I have to hold him and have him hold me. I have to look into his eyes and see his love for me. I have to feel his lips upon mine and feel his love, desire and need for me. Please take me back," Xena said and Athena looked at her and grinned. "All you had to do was ask," the goddess said and Xena grinned as she took Athena's hand and in mere seconds she found herself outside of the back of her mother's Inn. Xena let out a breath as she walked into the kitchen where she threw her things to the floor not really caring. She went through the kitchen door into the dinning area looking around until she spotted him sitting at the table laughing. Time seemed to move slow as she began walking over to him. From the moment she appeared outside of the Inn Ulysses felt her presence but it got stronger and stronger with every step she took.

He looked up and over and his eyes met with hers and their connection was instant. Ulysses stood and everything was slow motion for him as well. He began walking over to Xena and she grinned as she looked at him and when they were a few feet away she jumped into his arms. Ulysses wrapped his arms tight around Xena as he held her in his arms, "oh by the gods I've missed you so much," he whispered and Xena smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I've missed you too," Xena said. "That's Xena," Virgil said to Julian and Marguerite and Julian looked at him, "we sort of guessed that," he said to Virgil. They watched as the hug ended and they pulled back slightly, Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes with her hands on his face and he looked into her eyes with his hands on her waist. "I've prayed for this day since they day you left," Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes.

"As have I," he said and she grinned as she leaned in and kissed him softly but passionately. When the kissed ended they grinned at each other then kissed briefly once more. When the kiss ended Gemini came bounding out of the kitchen and over to Ulysses where she jumped up onto his legs, "hey Gemini, wow you've gotten big," he said to the wolf as he rubbed behind her ears and petted her some. After a minute he stood and looked at Xena as he took her hands in his and she smiled as he brought her hand up to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of it. "Come on, I want you to meet my parents," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she let Ulysses lead her over to the table, she was just so happy to see and be with him. When they got to the table they stood at the head of the table, "mom, dad this is Xena. The most wonderful, gorgeous, exciting woman who has stolen my heart that I've been telling you about," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him.

"Xena this is my mother Marguerite and my father Julian," Ulysses introduced them and Xena grinned at them, "it's an honor to meet you both. I've heard nothing but great things about you both," Xena said and Marguerite grinned at her. "And we've heard nothing but great things about you," Marguerite said and Julian nodded as he looked at Xena. "Indeed, it is we who are honored to meet you," he said and she looked at him. "Why is that?" She asked, "we have never seen our son grin or smile so much as he does when he talks about you," Julian said causing Ulysses to blush a little as he looked down and his parents chuckled at him. "We had to meet the great woman who turns our son into mush when he talks about you, it's really extraordinary," Julian said and Xena grinned as she looked at Ulysses who looked at her.

"I'll bring the food out, that way we can all sit here eating a nice dinner, while we talk and get to know each other," Cyrene said as she stood and they nodded. "Sounds like a good idea," Marguerite said and Xena grinned, "I'll help you mother," Lyceus said as he stood and brought his chair over to Ulysses so that Xena could sit next to him. "Thanks," Xena told Lyceus and he grinned at her and nodded. Ulysses held Xena's chair for her as she sat down and then he sat down next to her. Xena turned and looked at Ulysses, looked into his eyes and couldn't help it as she reached her fingers out and caressed his cheek with the back of them. "I can't believe you're here," she said and he grinned at her, "believe it my love. I am as real as the air you're breathing," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she leaned in and kissed his softly. When the kiss ended they grinned at each other while Julian and Marguerite watched the whole interaction.

They gave Ulysses and Xena a couple of minutes to themselves while they waited for everything to be brought out. Eight minutes later when everyone had a plate in front of them along with something to drink they began to eat and talk. "So Xena tell me about yourself," Marguerite said and Xena looked at her. "Is there anything in particular you would like to know?" Xena asked and Marguerite shook her head, "just anything about yourself that comes to mind. I just want to get to know the woman who my son is infatuated with," she said and Xena nodded and began telling Marguerite and Julian about herself with everyone kicking in things about Xena every now and then. "So you know how to cook?" Marguerite asked and Xena nodded, "she can cook quite well," Ulysses put in and Xena grinned at him as she lightly squeezed his hand under the table.

"Indeed, I'm proud to say that she's taken after me in that department," Cyrene said and Xena grinned at her mother as she picked up her glass and took a small gulp. When they were finished dinner, they continued to sit there and talk and it just came naturally to Xena as she leaned against Ulysses' chest and he wrapped his arm around her running his fingers up and down her bare arm as he placed a kiss on her forehead while they both joined in on the conversation. Cyrene left the table many times to do things in the Inn but most of the time her waitresses were able to handle it. It had gotten late and most of the patrons in the Inn were gone but Xena, Ulysses and their families were still sitting at the table talking and laughing, getting to know each other and having a good time.

There were a few people left in the Inn but other than that it was empty. After a while Ulysses stood with his glass in his hand and began to speak, "I'd like to make a toast," he said and everyone went silent as they looked at him. "To old friends and family," Ulysses said as he looked at Cyrene, Toris, Lyceus and Xena. "And to the beginning of new and great things," he said with a grin then raised his glass as did the others. "Here, here," Toris said and Ulysses grinned as he sat his glass down on the table but continued to stand. "I also want to say that I'm happy to be here, for a while I was afraid I would never see this place again, or the woman I love," Ulysses said as he looked down at Xena and she grinned at him causing him to smile. "We recently had a short war on Ithaca and at the end I was hurt pretty badly," Ulysses said then went into his pocket and took out something but no one noticed because they were engrossed in his story.

"It was strange, I had been in many battles and wars and I had been afraid in all of them, it was what fueled me and helped me stay alive and fight for what I thought was right. This time, I was afraid but not for my life, my family or my kingdom, all of which means a lot to me." Ulysses said then turned his attention directly to Xena, and looked into her eyes as he spoke to her. "But what I was most afraid of, was that I would never see you again," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes as he continued to speak to her. "Every time I fought, it was your face in my mind's eye that I saw, that made me fight as hard as I did. I wanted to be able to look into your eyes again and see the love you have for me. I wanted to feel your touch again, be able to hold you, here your laughter and see that beautiful smile." Ulysses said making Xena smile and he smiled back, "it was then that my heart really confirmed what I already knew, I can't and don't want to live without you."

He said and as he continued to look into her eyes he got down on one knee and unnoticeable by everyone else, Marguerite brought her hand up to her mouth to hold in a gasp and Julian was beginning to frown. "Xena I love you with all my heart and soul and I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with out you. You are the other half of my soul, you complete me," he said then brought his hand forward that held a small box and he opened. "Xena of Amphipolis will you marry me?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him her heart racing, "oh my gods," she said as she looked at Ulysses then at the three stone diamond ring on a gold band. Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes where she saw how much he loved her and she felt it through their connection. She also felt that this was meant to be, "yes," she said and Ulysses grinned.

"Yes I will marry you," she said again and Ulysses' face broke out into a huge smile as he removed the ring from the box and slid it onto her ring finger on her left hand. Xena took Ulysses' hand pulling him up as she stood up and they shared a passionate tasting of lips while her family clapped for them. When the kiss ended Xena couldn't stop smiling as she looked at Ulysses and he looked at her with a smile on his face. "I love you," Xena said, "and I love you," he said then leaned in and kissed her once more. When this kiss ended Cyrene was standing by Xena and she gave her daughter a hug, "oh I'm so happy for you," Cyrene said and Xena smiled. "Thanks mom," she said and Cyrene hugged Ulysses. "You know you could have asked for my blessing," she said and Ulysses grinned at her. "I wanted you to be just as surprised as Xena was, so I asked Toris and Lyceus for their blessing."

Ulysses said and Cyrene turned and looked at her son's who grinned at her as they hunched their shoulders before they clapped Ulysses on his back. Now that he had proposed to Xena that's all that was being talked about now but Julian and Marguerite did not join in on the conversation, they had other things on their minds. The few people that were in the Inn congratulated Xena then left so that Cyrene could close up. Xena helped clean up the Inn while Julian and Marguerite went up to their room and Ulysses was outside in the back talking with Virgil. "When did you have time to shop for a ring?" Virgil asked and Ulysses grinned, "I didn't shop for it, I had it made specifically for her," Ulysses said as he picked up a rock and threw it. "I knew you were going to propose to her but not so soon," Virgil said as he looked at his friend.

"I hadn't planned on doing it today, I actually wanted it to be special but just being with her today and seeing her, I couldn't wait any longer. I love her so much," Ulysses said then looked at Virgil. "You are okay with this aren't you?" Ulysses asked and Virgil looked at him, "of course I am. I'm happy for you," Virgil said and Ulysses grinned as he shook Virgil hand and then they leaned in for a hug. When the hug ended they talked a while longer and then Virgil went up to his room. Ulysses stayed out for a few more minutes to look up at the stars then turned his head when Xena cleared her throat. He grinned when he saw her leaning against the door frame and she did nothing but smile at him as she held her hand out to him. Ulysses walked over to her placing his hand in hers, following her as they walked into the kitchen.

"Goodnight you two," Cyrene said, "goodnight," they both replied as they headed down the stairs to Xena's room. Gemini jumped up on Ulysses once he was in the room and Xena grinned as she closed and locked the door behind her. Ulysses sat down in a chair and took of his boots, then began unbuttoning his shirt taking it off and placing it on the chair, then he continued to play with Gemini. While he did that Xena went around the room placing a few candles around, then lit them. When she was done, she walked over to Ulysses who was now by the bed and she stood in front of him and looked into his eyes. Ulysses looked into Xena's eyes then closed his eyes as she ran her hands over his chest and he let out a breath when she placed a kiss there. When she was done, he opened his eyes and looked into hers, "you really want me to be your wife?" Xena asked as she caressed his chest and he nodded, "I love you so much Xena and I really want you to be my wife for the rest of out lives."

He said and Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes, "do you want me to be your husband?" He asked and Xena grinned, "I do. I always thought I would never get married but when I look into your eyes, I know that we are meant to be," Xena said and Ulysses smiled. "That's all I needed to hear," he said then leaned in and kissed Xena softly but passionately. They stood there for a while kissing and as they kissed, Ulysses began to slowly peel Xena's clothes off of her with her help. When she was in nothing but her underwear, Ulysses scooped Xena up into his arms and she grinned as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "My hero," she whispered to him with a grin on her face and he grinned then moaned as she leaned in and kissed him softly. Ulysses turned and walked the few more feet over to the bed where he gently deposited Xena, then lay down half on her and half on the bed as they continued to kiss.

They lay there for the longest kissing and gently caressing each other, Xena even went as far as to pull Ulysses' belt out of his pants and threw it on the floor. As they continued to kiss they rolled around on the bed, sometimes smiling at each other while they said nothing and other times they said small loving things to each other. When Xena was on top she ended the kiss and sat up and looked down at Ulysses, looking into his eyes as she ran her hands over his chest. She brought her hand behind her back and undid the string keeping her bra on. Once it was undone, she pulled it off of her, throwing it to the floor and Ulysses ran his eyes over her beautiful body. Ulysses ran his hands over Xena's thighs as he looked at her, "baby you are so beautiful," he said and Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes.

She ran her hands over his chest as she slowly leaned down until her lips were almost touching his, "make love to me," she whispered to him and Ulysses moaned as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Anything you want," he whispered, then raised his head and kissed her deeply and passionately. "Mmmm," Xena moaned as she returned the kiss just as passionately. As they kissed, Ulysses ran his hands over Xena's back, butt, thighs and legs. After a while he rolled Xena onto her back and began to make slow, passionate, undying love to her. He kissed her body from head to toe, and he paid special attention to those spots that she reacted most to. He removed her underwear dropping them to the floor and Xena had her eyes closed and legs wide open as her back arched off of the bed in pleasure. Ulysses was between her legs tasting her great sweetness moaning as he did so.

His hands held her thighs open and he caressed them, while his mouth was busy. Xena's back arched off of the bed constantly as she moaned while her hands ran through Ulysses' hair sometimes gripping and pulling it. "Ummm…Ulysses," Xena moaned and Ulysses moaned as he softly ran his tongue over her labia. Ten minutes later Xena released and Ulysses kissed his way back up her body. When he got to her breasts he paid them special attention by sucking on her delicious nipples. From there he went to her neck then kissed her passionately and Xena moaned as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair. They kissed for a while and then Xena rolled Ulysses onto his back kissing him for a while longer, before she began kissing, sucking and nibbling his entire body.

Ulysses moaned as he looked down at Xena while running his fingers through her hair. Xena kissed all over his stomach and when she got to his pants, she undid them, then pulled them down his legs throwing them to the floor. Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as she ran her hands over his thighs then leaned down and breathe on his very erect member before her tongue snaked out and licked the tip of it. She teased him for a while, before she actually fully took his member into her mouth and sucked him deep into her mouth. "Mmmm," Ulysses moaned as he looked down at Xena moving her hair to one side as he watched her. Ulysses' moans were like an aphrodisiac to Xena and she had to hear more of them, so she did any and everything that made him hiss, moan and cry out in pleasure.

Ulysses was breathing hard after about ten minutes of Xena's wonderful attention and even though what she was doing was feeling incredible, Ulysses didn't want to release like that. So he sat up some and pulled Xena to him, she looked at him seeing what he wanted so she began kissing her way back up until she was looking into his eyes. "I love you so much," he whispered to her as he looked into her eyes while placing her hair behind her ear. Xena grinned down at Ulysses as she leaned in and kissed him softly. They lay there and kissed for a while and Ulysses gently and slowly rolled Xena onto her back positioning himself between her legs. Ulysses deepened the kiss and Xena moaned as she ran her fingers through his hair and over his back. Ulysses posed himself at Xena's entrance and as they continued to kiss, he eased himself into her stretching her as he did so.

"Unnngh," Xena moaned as Ulysses pushed all the way in then pulled out. She ended the kiss and he looked at her, moaning himself at how tight, warm and wet she was. He initiated another deep, passionate kiss keeping pace with his thrusting. Soon the room was filled with heavy breathing and moaning, along with the rustling of sheets. They rolled around constantly on the bed and when Xena was on top she gave Ulysses the ride of his life. Her eyes were closed, head tilted back, her hand on the head board while the other caressed Ulysses' arm, since his hand was caressing her back, while he kissed on her chest and neck. Xena pressed her hips down hard and used her muscles to clench him deep within her while she rocked against him. "Ssss…Unnngh," Ulysses pulled back from sucking on Xena's nipple to moan.

After a while Ulysses gently picked Xena up laying her back onto her back as they continued to make passionate love to each other. An hour later Ulysses fell back on his back, his body glistening with sweat and his was breathing hard. Xena's body was glistening with sweat as well and she too was breathing hard as she moved into Ulysses' arms, laying her head on his shoulder while she ran her hand over his chest, her leg between his. "That was so amazing," Ulysses said after he caught his breath and Xena grinned, "mmmm…yes it was," she said then placed a kiss on Ulysses' shoulder. Ulysses raised Xena's chin and looked into her eyes, "you were absolutely amazing," he whispered to her and Xena grinned then moaned as Ulysses kissed her deeply.

Xena moaned as she took in air through her nose while running her fingers through his hair, when the kiss ended, Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as she caressed his cheek. "You were amazing too. You have no idea how many times I wished and dreamed for you to be here and make passionate love to me." Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he looked into her eyes, "I think I do because I wished and dreamed the exact same thing," Ulysses said and Xena just looked at him before she leaned in and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended Xena laid her head back down on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm tight around her then placed a kiss on her forehead. They lay there in silence for a while, Xena running her hand over Ulysses' chest and he ran his fingers up and down her arm and sometimes her back.

Xena's mind was on the fact that Ulysses proposed to her and she said yes, it was strange to her that she heard no warnings or anything going off, telling her it was a bad idea. There were no voices putting doubt in her mind, there was only her love for Ulysses and how much he meant to her. She grinned to herself, then looked at the ring on her finger and it was beautiful. There were three diamond stones, which were square shaped and the one in the middle was bigger than the two on the side, it also held a hint of blue to it. It was definitely one of a kind and then Xena noticed that there were carving in the gold band and it was a beautiful design. "Do you like it?" Ulysses asked, startling Xena out of her thoughts, "I love it," she said, then raised up on her elbow, pulling the sheet closer around her chest as she looked down at Ulysses.

"It's very beautiful and unique," she said and Ulysses grinned as he ran his fingers over her arm. "I had it made especially for you. That diamond stone in the middle is one of a kind and when I saw it, it immediately reminded me of your eyes," he said and Xena grinned at him as she turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand. "It must have cost you a fortune," Xena said and Ulysses grinned at her, "nothing is too much for you Xena. I want to give you everything you need and anything you want," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes as she caressed his cheek. "Really?" She asked and Ulysses nodded, "really. You mean the world to me Xena and I love you so much. You were all I could think of these months that we've been apart." Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "it was the same for me. There were so many times I wanted to hop on a ship and go to Ithaca, just so that I could see your face but I knew you needed to do what you were doing on your own."

Xena said, "but I was never really on my own. You were here," he said as he placed his hand over his heart, "you were always here. I felt you all the time and it was a real comfort when I was really missing you," Ulysses said as he looked into Xena's eyes. "I asked you to marry me Xena because I want us to spend the rest of our lives together, I asked you because I love you. There was no other reason than that," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she lowered her head for a minute. "I was really surprised," she said and Ulysses grinned. "Me too," he said then chuckled. "I had planned on asking you to marry me but not tonight. I wanted to make it special, I wanted it to be romantic, but just sitting there at the table, with you in my arms, talking and laughing, I couldn't wait. I wanted to ask you right then and there would you be mine for the rest of our lives."

Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him, "it was special to me. The way you proposed to me in front of my family and your parents. It was a very special moment and I will always remember it," Xena said, then leaned down and kissed Ulysses softly on the lips. They kissed softly for a couple of minutes, then Xena laid back down in Ulysses' arms and they talked for a while. "Your parents are nice," Xena said and Ulysses grinned, "yea," he said. "Do you think they like me?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked down at her, "of course they like you. How could they not?" Ulysses asked and Xena hunched her shoulders as she raised her head and rested her chin on Ulysses' chest. "In the beginning I thought they liked me, we were talking, laughing and getting along just fine but when you asked me to marry you, they didn't look so good. In fact they looked as if they didn't approve," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her.

"They were probably just really surprised. I mean I told them about you before we came, I told them how much I was in love with you and they didn't have a problem with it then, so why now?" Ulysses asked, "before you were just seeing a commoner, you weren't marrying one," Xena said as she sat up holding the sheet to her chest and Ulysses sat up as well. "If that is the case then I will talk to them, but I will marry you Xena, the fact that you're not royalty will not stop it," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes. "I don't want to come between you and your family," Xena said and Ulysses grinned at her as he placed his hand on her cheek. "Sweetheart you won't, besides, you are my family now," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes and grinned then leaned in and kissed him softly.

That kiss turned into a very deep and passionate kiss and Ulysses rolled Xena onto her back and before they knew it they were making love once more, that night they fell asleep in each other's arms. Ulysses woke the next morning with the sun beginning to shine into his face, Xena moaned a little as she ran her hand over Ulysses' chest and he grinned as Xena turned his face towards her and kissed him deeply and passionately. Ulysses moaned as he wrapped his arm tighter around Xena, easing her onto her back as they kissed and after a while, she rolled Ulysses back onto his back kissing him deeply enough that his head was pushed back into the pillow while he moaned and caressed Xena's back. They were getting into things when Gemini jumped up onto the bed nudging Ulysses' arm.

The kiss ended and Ulysses looked at Gemini, "she probably needs to go out. I'm usually up by now," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he let out a breath. "I'll let her out," he said and Xena nodded as she rolled off of him and he sat up, then stood up walking a few feet a way to pick up his pants. Xena grinned as she looked at Ulysses' nice butt and back, "don't be long," Xena said feeling her passion for Ulysses rising and he grinned as he looked at her. "Trust me I won't be," he said then walked over to the door and opened it, Gemini ran out before him and he walked up the stairs and into the kitchen. "Good morning Cyrene," Ulysses said as he walked over to the door. "Good morning," she said, then watched as Ulysses opened the door letting Gemini out, closing it behind her.

"See ya later," Ulysses said as he headed back downstairs and Cyrene grinned and shook her head, then went back to preparing breakfast. Ulysses walked back into Xena's bedroom closing and locking the door behind him and he grinned as he saw Xena lying on the bed with her foot on the bed, the sheet barely covering her thigh. She grinned at Ulysses as she crooked her finger at him and he smiled as he took off his pants and got into the bed lying between her legs, while they shared a passionate kiss. An hour later, a sweaty Xena lay on top of an equally sweaty Ulysses, "wow," Xena said and Ulysses smiled as he placed a kiss on Xena's forehead. "That was definitely great," he said and Xena grinned as she raised her head a little then kissed Ulysses softly and he moaned as he used the back of his fingers to caress Xena's cheek.

When the kiss ended Xena laid her head back down, "you know we should be getting up," Ulysses said and Xena groaned as she pushed into him. "Yea, just give me a couple of minutes," she said and Ulysses grinned as he caressed Xena's back. "Hey," he called after a minute, "hmmm?" Xena answered and Ulysses smoothed her hair back as he kissed her forehead, "I love you," he said then smiled when he felt Xena smile against his chest. "I love you too," Xena said then raised her head and looked into Ulysses' eyes and he looked into hers. "You are so beautiful and I am so in love with you," Ulysses whispered and Xena grinned. "Umm…you're not so bad yourself and I'm deeply in love with you," Xena said causing Ulysses' to chuckle. They clowned around for a bit then relaxed for a while more before they got up, took a shower and got dressed.

"We were wondering if you guys were ever going to get up," Cyrene said as Xena and Ulysses walked into the kitchen. Ulysses placed a kiss on his mother's cheek, before he sat down at the table next to his father and Virgil sat next to Marguerite. "So I hear congratulations are in order," Corrinna said to Xena, as Xena walked over to the stove, where Corrinna stood next to Cyrene. Xena smiled and nodded, "yea," she said then held up her hand so that Corrinna could see the ring and Corrinna held Xena's hand in her own as she looked at the ring. "This is beautiful, Ulysses you did a great job," Corrinna said and he grinned at her. "Nothing's too much for the woman I love," he said and Xena grinned as she looked at Ulysses who winked at her causing her to smile. Marguerite and Julian watched the interaction and they had plans on talking to Ulysses later on about the decision he had made.

Until then, they kept their cool and kept up pretenses, talking to Cyrene and Corrinna while breakfast was being prepared. When breakfast was ready, they sat down and ate, Toris and Lyceus having had their breakfast earlier, were out in the fields. When they were finished breakfast, Xena and Cyrene began to clear off the table while Corrinna headed back to her house to get some of her work done. "Ulysses can you do me a favor?" Cyrene asked and Ulysses grinned at her as he stood, "say no more Cyrene, I know today is bread baking day," Ulysses said and she grinned at him. "Don't tire yourself out," Xena said to Ulysses who grinned at her, "trust me I won't," he said then leaned in and kissed her briefly and when the kiss ended he headed out the back door, followed by Virgil who headed to the fields to help Toris and Lyceus.

Ulysses began chopping up wood with Gemini keeping him company and when the sun began beaming down on him he took his shirt of so that it would stay clean as he began to sweat. Xena stood by the window with a bowl in her hand stirring its contents while she watched Ulysses. She watched his muscles flex every time he picked up the axe and slammed it back down; his sweaty body glistening in the sun and his nice butt. "Xena are you paying attention what you're fixing or what's outside the window?" Cyrene asked her daughter with a grin and Xena turned and looked at her mother, "huh?" She asked and Cyrene chuckled at her as did Marguerite. "You know he looks thirsty, I'm going to go and bring him some water," Xena said as she sat the bowl down on the table. "Oh I don't think so, let Marguerite bring him some water. We have a lot to get done before lunch and I know you and he will just disappear some where."

Cyrene told her daughter and Xena shook her head, "no we won't, I promise," Xena said as she poured Ulysses a glass of water. "I'll be right back," she said then walked out of the door before her mother could say anything else. "Hey, you look like you could use a drink," Xena said and Ulysses turned and looked at her. "I could, thanks," he said with a grin as he took the glass from Xena looking at her as he brought the cup up to his lips and began drinking the water. As he drinked he continued to look at Xena and noticed she was looking him over with hunger and desire in her eyes. "My mother's keeping you guys company?" Ulysses asked and Xena nodded as she looked into his eyes, "yea and she's helping us out a little bit. Her and my mother, seem to be getting along pretty well," Xena said and Ulysses nodded and drained his cup.

When he was done he handed the cup back to Xena and when he did that he wrapped his arm around Xena pulling her tight against him the leaned in and kissed her deeply and passionately. Xena moaned as she ran her hands up Ulysses' arms and pushed into him asking for more. It had been a couple of minutes so Cyrene looked out of the window and saw them and she shook her head. "I knew it," Cyrene said, "what? Are they gone?" Marguerite asked and Cyrene shook her head, "no, worse." She said and Marguerite stood and walked over to the window where she saw them kissing passionately and she couldn't help but grin. Xena kissed Ulysses a while longer before she pushed on his chest pushing him away as she stepped back some ending the kiss. "I told mom I would be right back," she said as she looked at Ulysses and he grinned at her.

"Then you shouldn't have been looking at me the way you were," he said as he grabbed Xena's hand playing with her fingers. "You know you want me to kiss you again," Ulysses said as he began to walk up to Xena and she grinned at him as she bit down on her lower lip trying to resist the sweet temptation. When Ulysses was so close Xena could inhale in scent she lost the battle and he saw that in her eyes then grinned as he leaned forward and began passionately tasting her lips. Xena moaned as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair grabbing it and pulling him closer as she began to devour his mouth. Ulysses moaned as the table was turned on him and it excited him to no end that Xena, this woman that he was deeply in love with, had turned the tables on him like no other woman ever had. "Ummmm," Ulysses moaned as he held her tighter to him.

"Xena," Cyrene called from the door and Xena ended the kiss much to Ulysses disappointment, "I'll be right there mom," Xena said then turned and looked at Ulysses grinning at his expression. "I'll see you at lunch," Xena said as she began to lean in for a kiss. "I'll have you for lunch," Ulysses murmured against Xena's lips and she grinned at him as she kissed him softly. When the kiss ended she kissed him once more sucking on his lips then grinned as he groaned his disappointment. "Later," Xena said as she lightly shook Ulysses' hand then turned and walked away turning to grin at Ulysses who didn't want to let go of her hand. When he finally did Xena walked back into the Inn and Ulysses turned his attention back to the log where he was chopping the wood. _'Gods I love that woman'_ Ulysses thought to himself as he picked up the axe and continued his chopping.

Meanwhile Xena continued to help her mother in the kitchen and Julian kept an eye on things in the Inn with the guards and he had things on his mind, like his son getting married. It wasn't that he didn't like Xena, she was a nice enough young woman, but he didn't know that much about her or her intentions towards his son. Besides that she was a commoner, a peasant and she could be trying to take his money. There were so many things going through Julian's mind but this one was the most important and he would talk to his son about it today. Lunch came by fast and Ulysses was just finishing up as Virgil, Lyceus and Toris walked up to the Inn. "I see mother had you back to your old job," Toris said and Ulysses grinned and nodded as he picked the logs up and stacked them up against the side of the Inn.

When he was finished he walked into the kitchen and headed downstairs to get cleaned up like the others had done. When he was finished he walked back up into the kitchen and saw everyone bustling around. Xena walked over to the door with a tray full of food in her hand, she pushed the door open with her back and walked into the dinning area over to the table whose order she had taken. "Ulysses take this over to our table will you," Cyrene said as she handed him a heavy tray. Ulysses left the kitchen and brought the tray over to the table sitting it down, "Ulysses I need to speak with you," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father. "Okay," he said and Julian stood and walked over to the stairs with Ulysses following him.

"Congratulations on your engagement Xena," a woman said to Xena as she passed by and Xena grinned at her. "Thanks," she said then turned her attention to Ulysses who she saw walk over to the stairs with his father and she wondered what they were talking about. "Yes, congratulations," Maphias said and Xena let out a breath as she turned and looked at him. "Let me guess, you're surprised that he asked me to marry him?" Xena said and Maphias looked at her, "I am, I'm even surprised that he came back but that doesn't mean I'm not happy for you." He said and Xena looked at him, "really? Because all you could seem to do while Ulysses was gone was doubt that our relationship was going to last and what type of man he was." Xena said and Maphias nodded, "yes and I still feel the same way. Xena him proposing to you doesn't change anything, he is still a prince and you are still a peasant."

He said and Xena turned her head as if she weren't listening to him but she couldn't help but listen as he continued to speak, "you're still living in this fairy tail world where you think everything's going to be fine but its not. His parents aren't going to let you marry him, a peasant marrying their only son, the heir to their kingdom. Come on Xena I know you're smarter than that and you know better," he said and she looked at him. "We love each other and Ulysses has already said nothing and no one will stop us from getting married so you can stop your interfering and speculations I don't need or want them." She said and went to leave but Maphias grabbed her arm and she turned and looked at him then looked around before she walked up to him. "Take your hand off of me before I break it," she whispered to him in a cold voice and he looked into her eyes that had gone ice cold and removed his hand.

"Do you really want to do that?" Maphias asked, "do what?" Xena asked in an impatient voice, "come between him and his family. What he may be telling you is true but you don't want to do that. I know you're not the kind of person to alienate someone from their family, especially the man you claim to love." He said and Xena looked at him, "I do love him, that's why I agreed to marry him," Xena said and Maphias nodded. "But you have to ask yourself this. Will you and he getting married ruin his relationship with his family and will it put a strain on his relationship with you?" Maphias said, "just think about that," he said then walked away and Xena let out a breath as she looked over to where Ulysses and his father were talking. She eased her way over close to them where she could hear but wasn't close enough that they would suspect that she was eavesdropping.

When Ulysses and his father were over by the stairs, Ulysses looked at his father, "what's up?" Ulysses asked and Julian looked at his son. "I don't know how to say this so I'm going to come right out and say it, you can't marry her," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father then grinned. "I'm sorry I thought you just told me I couldn't marry Xena," Ulysses said and Julian looked at his son. "You heard it because that's what I said," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father. "I'm marrying Xena," Ulysses said. "No you're not," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father. "You telling me I'm not is not going to stop me," Ulysses said and Julian let out a breath as he looked at his stubborn son. "Ulysses, Xena is a nice, young woman but she isn't right for you," Julian said. "How do you know if she's right for me or not? You've only known her for one day, whereas I've known her for months.

You're judging her when you don't even know her," he said and Julian looked at his son. "I know enough. I know you are a handsome, intelligent very wealthy man and any woman especially a woman like Xena would be lucky to have you." Julian said, "what do you mean a woman like Xena? You mean because she isn't royalty?" Ulysses asked and Julian looked into his son's eyes. "Yes that's part of what I mean, she's a peasant Ulysses and she's probably after your money and position." Julian said and Ulysses shook his head at his father, "you are so wrong. She is not like that. She is an intelligent, honest, honorable woman who loves me for the person I am not who I am. You would see that if you gave her a chance instead of judging her. She had no idea who I was until the day Gregory came here, so what you're saying isn't true."

Ulysses said and Julian let out a breath, "Ulysses you need to open your eyes and see what your mother and I see," Julian said, "mother agrees with you?" Ulysses asked and Julian looked into his son's eyes, "yes, she's just as concerned about you marrying this woman as I am. These people are nice enough I'll give them that but they would be fools not to jump at the chance of a better life, a chance you are giving them by asking her to marry you. Not to mention, yes she isn't royalty, she isn't even close…" Julian said but didn't finish because Ulysses stopped him. "First of all her name is Xena, use it. Secondly I don't give a damn if she isn't royalty, I love her and she loves me and that's all that matters. Thirdly I don't care what you and mother think or say, I am marrying her, end of discussion."

Ulysses said and went to walk away when his father grabbed his arm and he turned and looked his father dead in the eye, "don't make me do something that I don't want. You can't marry her, you have to see that, if not, then I'll have to make you see it." Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father, "I can marry her and I will. You do what you have to do and I'll do the same, but if I have to choose between Xena and you and mother, I will chose Xena." Ulysses said then pulled his arm free and walked away heading back over to the table and Julian let out a breath as he looked at his son. Xena heard the conversation from the middle to the end and it hurt that his parents thought about her that way and it also concerned her that what Maphias was saying was beginning to come true, she was getting between Ulysses and his family and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

When everyone finally sat down for dinner Xena and Ulysses were both quiet, both having their own things on their mind. Ulysses did notice that Xena was quieter than normal, "you alright?" He whispered in her ear and she turned and looked into his eyes and nodded, "yea I'm fine." She said as she continued to look into Ulysses' eyes then leaned in and kissed him softly and when the kiss ended she looked at him. "I love you very much, you know that don't you?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned at her, "of course I know it, that's about the only thing I do know these days. I love you too," Ulysses said as he picked up Xena's hand and kissed the back of it getting a small grin from her and they continued to hold hands as they finished their dinner. When everyone was finished and the Inn wasn't getting any less crowded, Cyrene headed back to the kitchen and Xena stood at the table picking up the dishes.

"Sweetheart can you take these into the kitchen for me?" Xena asked Ulysses as she ran her hands over his neck and Ulysses grinned and nodded as he stood and picked up a pile of dishes and headed into the kitchen. Xena picked up the last pile and headed into the kitchen with them as well. "Did you talk to him?" Marguerite whispered to Julian who looked at his wife, "couldn't you tell by how silent and distant he was?" Julian asked then let out a breath, "so what did he say?" She asked, "bottom line, no matter what we say he's going to marry her." Julian said, "well Julian we have to talk to him," she said then went quiet as Ulysses walked back over to the table. "Let me make this clear, do not interfere with my relationship with Xena. This is different than what happened with Victoria, I will not accept or tolerate interference."

Ulysses said, "Ulysses we're not trying…" Marguerite started but Ulysses stopped her, "yes you are. Why can't you see that I love her with all my heart and she loves me? Is it because you don't want to see? You would rather you pick who I should marry. Well I'm telling you now that's not going to happen. I love Xena and I would like for you guys to get to know her more before you judge her after knowing her for a day." Ulysses talked to his parents in a low voice and they looked at him, "Ulysses she's a nice woman," Marguerite said, "well good, get to know her, for me," Ulysses said and they looked at her. "Its not that we don't want to get to know her, it's just that doing so will change nothing. You still can't marry her," Julian said and Ulysses let out a breath. "Tell me why, give me a good solid reason why I can't marry the woman I love," Ulysses said and Julian looked at his son.

"She's not of noble or royal blood Ulysses," Marguerite started and Ulysses shook his head, "that's not a good enough reason." He said, "and if that's the only reason you can think of, then there is no reason for me not to marry Xena." Ulysses said then stood and headed into the kitchen and he walked out of the back door. Ulysses was walking away from the Inn when he heard Virgil calling him, "hey Ulysses wait up," Virgil said as he jogged to catch up to his friend. Ulysses stopped and looked at Virgil when he caught up they began walking. "What's going on between you and your parents?" Virgil asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "they don't want me to marry Xena," Ulysses said and Virgil looked at him with surprise. "Really? They seemed to be really interested in meeting her," He said and Ulysses nodded. "I know, that's why I don't understand where all of this is coming from.

The best reason they could give me for not marrying Xena was that she was not of noble or royal blood," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "Well you knew it would be a problem," Virgil said, "but I didn't expect it to be this much of a problem. I didn't expect to have to choose between my family and the woman I love," Ulysses said and Virgil was silent for a minute. "You chose Xena," Virgil said and Ulysses nodded then looked at his best friend. "I love her, she is my earth, my Queen," Ulysses said and Virgil nodded. "Then you made the right decision but will you be able to live with it?" Virgil asked and Ulysses stopped and looked at his friend, "are you saying I should have chosen my family over Xena?" Ulysses asked and Virgil shook his head, "no I'm not saying that. Ulysses you made a decision based on what you felt was right, what was in your heart, I can't argue with that. But do you really want to spend the rest of your life without talking to your parents?

They are apart of your life as much as Xena is. Talk to them and try to get them to understand and maybe you guys can work it out," Virgil said and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked up at the sky as if he were looking for some guidance. "I'll see you in the morning," Virgil said to Ulysses as he clapped him on his shoulder and Ulysses nodded then let out a breath and continued walking. He walked for a while as he thought about what Virgil said and everything else but one thing was clear to him, he loved Xena with all his being and he would marry her. Back at the Inn Xena was very quiet as she continued to serve the patrons and help her mother in the kitchen. She was quiet because like Ulysses she had things on her mind, mostly the conversation she overheard between Ulysses and his father, what Maphias said to her and what she should do about everything.

By the time they were closed for the night Xena cleaned up the Inn then went to see about Argo, making sure the mare had food and clean water. She grabbed the brush and brushed her down as she talked to her, "I don't know what to do girl, I'm so confused." Xena said then leaned into Argo's neck letting out a breath then she patted the mare and told her good night before she left the stables. She headed back to the Inn and went down to her bedroom where she got ready for bed and wondered where Ulysses was. She let out a breath as she stoked the fire in her room since it was a little chilly and other than the fire place there was no other light in the room. Gemini lay on the rug by the bed and Xena got into bed pulling the sheet up over her body and she just lay there thinking. Twenty minutes later she heard Ulysses quietly open the door and she pretended to be asleep. He quietly went about the room getting ready for bed, putting nothing on but his pajama pants.

He then got in to the bed from the foot and laid behind Xena which was his regular spot. He lay on his back for a while just thinking before he looked over at Xena. He turned on his side, scooted up behind her and wrapped his arm around her as he inhaled her scent. He held her tightly and Xena moaned as she ran her hand over his arm and hand. Ulysses placed a few kisses on Xena's neck then laid his head down on the pillow and drifted off to sleep. Xena was still awake but with Ulysses holding her it wasn't long before she fell asleep. Two hours after midnight she woke up and just laid there thinking about the situation with Ulysses and his family. She looked down at the ring on her finger then at Ulysses' hand _'is your happiness worth hurting the man you love?'_ Xena questioned herself. Xena lay there for ten minutes since she couldn't get to sleep. After that she eased herself out of the bed without waking Ulysses then walked over to the door gently opening it and she held out her hand to Gemini telling the wolf to stay.

She quietly closed the door back then headed up stairs to the kitchen where she saw her mother sitting there with Corrinna. "What are you guys doing up?" Xena asked, "we're getting old, old people rarely sleep," Cyrene said and Corrinna grinned as she sipped on some tea. "What are you doing up?" Corrinna asked and Xena let out a breath as she sat down at the table, "I have too much on my mind," Xena said as Cyrene stood up to fix her daughter a cup of tea. "You're thinking about preparing for your wedding?" Corrinna asked and Xena let out a breath, "I wish I were. I don't even know if there is going to be a wedding," Xena said as she toyed with the ring on her finger. Cyrene walked back over to the table sitting the cup down in front of Xena, "why would you say that?" Cyrene asked her daughter and Xena looked at her mother, "Ulysses' parents don't want him to marry me," Xena said.

"Did they say that?" Cyrene asked, "Not to me but to Ulysses. I overheard Julian telling Ulysses that he didn't want him to marry me." Xena said, "Well did he say why?" Corrinna asked and Xena let out a breath, "apparently the main reason is because I'm not of royal blood and then the other is apparently I'm after his money." Xena said, "well that's just unbelievable. You're not after his money and it shouldn't matter if you're of royal blood or not, what matters is you and Ulysses are in love with each other." Cyrene said, "Maybe that's not enough," Xena whispered after she took a small sip of the tea. "What did Ulysses say?" Corrinna asked and Xena let out a breath, "I haven't talked to him about it, he doesn't know that I overheard their conversation. He did defend me though and said he would marry me no matter what," Xena said and they looked at her. "Well there you have it you guys are still getting married," Corrinna said and Xena let out a breath as she stood.

"How can I marry him when his parents clearly don't approve? I mean I don't want to come between Ulysses and his parents. I don't want them to be cut out of his life and what happens if that does happen. What will it do to our relationship?" Xena asked, "Xena you really should talk to Ulysses," Cyrene told her daughter and Xena leaned against the counter as she folded her arms. "I'm afraid," Xena said and Cyrene stood and walked over to her daughter. "Of what dear?" She asked and Xena looked into her mother's eyes, "that he'll listen to them and our relationship will be over or that he doesn't listen to them and his relationship with them will be over and it'll put a strain on our relationship until it will be over." Xena said and Cyrene looked at her daughter as she caressed her arm, "tell me what to do momma," Xena said and Cyrene grinned a little. "Oh Xena I can't tell you what to do, what decision to make. The only thing I can tell you is to follow your heart," Cyrene said. "But my heart and mind are saying two different things," Xena said.

"Then you have to make the decision that's best for you," Corrinna said. Meanwhile back in Xena's room Ulysses woke up five minutes after Xena was gone. He sat up and looked around the room but when he didn't see her he got out of the bed and walked over to the door walking out of it with Gemini following him. Ulysses was going to check the chamber but he heard voices coming from the kitchen so that's where he headed. When he walked into the kitchen he saw Xena standing by the counter and Cyrene comforting her. "Is everything alright?" Ulysses asked as he walked into the kitchen and Xena looked at him, "yea everything's fine," Xena said then cleared her throat and turned. "We should be getting back to bed," Corrinna said as she stood and Cyrene touched Xena on her arm before she turned and headed back downstairs to her room with Corrinna.

When they were gone Ulysses walked over to Xena standing behind her and placing his hands on her arms, "what's wrong?" He asked her and Xena let out a breath as she turned and looked at Ulysses, "I overheard you and your father talking tonight," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked down for a moment. "I'm sorry you had to hear that," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "Ulysses I love you so much and nothing would make me happier than becoming your wife but I don't want to cause problems between you and your family." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "Xena my problems with my parents haven't started because I want to marry you. They've always been there because they want to control my life. If you heard the conversation with my father then you know that I told him that no matter what I was going to marry you because I love you,"

Ulysses said then placed his hand on Xena's cheek as he looked into her eyes, "I love you Xena, you are my earth, my Queen and nothing, no one, will stop me from making you my wife." Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "you chose me over your family. It will put a strain on our relationship," Xena said and Ulysses shook his head. "No it won't. Xena you are my life and I didn't have to think twice about the decision I have made. Now I'm going to try and get my parents to see what I see when I look at you but if they don't accept that we are getting married and welcome you into our family then that's their decision, it's their loss. And my decision will be to marry and build our own family, here in Amphipolis," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes then let out a breath. "I'm so scared Ulysses," Xena said and he looked into her eyes, "of what?" He asked and Xena swallowed hard as she told Ulysses her fears.

"That you'll listen to your parents and what we have, the love we've found will be no more. And then I'm afraid that you'll regret the decision you've made to chose me over them and everything will still be over." Xena said then looked down for a moment, "I love you so much," she said as she held Ulysses' hands while looking into his eyes. "And I can't bear living life without you but as much as marrying you would make me the happiest woman alive your happiness means more to me than my own. So if I have to give you up to save your relationship with your parents then I will," Xena said with tears in her eyes and Ulysses shook his head as he held Xena's face in his hands while looking into her eyes. "No, because then we would both be miserable and my relationship with my parents would un-doubtly be ruined because I would blame them for losing you." Ulysses said then stepped closer to Xena, "I know things look bad now but trust me when I say it'll get better.

Everything will be fine, I need you to believe that, believe me and in me and our love." Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes, "I do," she said as a lone tear rolled down her face and Ulysses wiped it away with his thumb as he looked into her eyes. "Will you, Xena of Amphipolis, marry me?" Ulysses asked again and Xena looked into his eyes as she answered him, "yes," she said and Ulysses grinned as he leaned in and kissed Xena softly and then they hugged. "Yes, a million times yes," Xena whispered to Ulysses and he grinned as he placed a kiss on her neck. When the hug ended he caressed her cheek as he looked at her, "come on lets go back to bed," Ulysses said and they walked back down stairs hand in hand to Xena's bedroom. Once there they got back into bed holding each other the way they were before and that's they way they fell asleep and Xena's mind was lighter but her concerns weren't completely gone.

When morning came Xena and Ulysses were both up early and they went for a run along with Gemini. They actually had fun on their run as they clowned around and then they did some friendly sparring while they were out. Back at the Inn Marguerite came down to the kitchen where Cyrene was of course already up fixing breakfast. "Good morning," Marguerite said and Cyrene looked at her, "is it?" Cyrene asked and Marguerite looked at her and watched as Cyrene walked over and sat down at the table looking at Marguerite. "What is it that you and your husband have against my daughter marrying your son?" Cyrene asked and Marguerite let out a breath, "we have nothing against her," she said. "Sure you do? You think she isn't good enough because she's isn't royalty but let me tell you something, there are more things that are important than the blood that runs through a person's veins.

That blood gives a person nothing but the right to a position but it doesn't make the person. Xena is as smart, cunning and honorable as the next noble or king, maybe even more so. So you shouldn't judge her without getting to know her. She has been judged enough in her life just because she chose to be different than everyone else. She doesn't need to or deserves to be judge by you and your husband because of what she isn't." Cyrene said as she looked Marguerite dead into her eyes, "you know I'm beginning to see why Ulysses left. You're trying to control his life instead of letting him live it the way he wants to. Ulysses is a great man and he is lucky to have a woman like Xena. It would be sad if his own parents missed his wedding because of something a person is not. Don't push yourselves out of your son's life, you'll only end up regretting it," Cyrene finished then stood and went back over to the stove.

Marguerite sat there and thought about what Cyrene said until Xena and Ulysses walked in through the back door grinning at each other. They both stopped cold when they noticed Marguerite sitting at the table, "good morning," Xena said in a polite tone. "Good morning Xena," Marguerite said then watched as Xena turned to Ulysses, "I'm going get cleaned up," she said and he nodded and watched her go downstairs. Ulysses looked at his mother for a moment before he too headed downstairs and Marguerite let out a breath as she saw that Cyrene was right. Was something as simple as Xena not being of noble or royal blood worth losing her son over? Marguerite stood and walked over to Cyrene, "can you use some help?" She asked and Cyrene looked at her and nodded, "yea you can crack those eggs in that bowl and whip them up for me," Cyrene said and that's what Marguerite did.

Xena and Ulysses both took showers in separate stalls then went back to the room and got dressed. Since it was chilly, Xena wore her black leather pants and a shirt and Ulysses wore his brown leather pants and off white shirt. They both had at least two daggers on them mainly in their boots. When they were dressed they went back up to the kitchen, Ulysses went to the dinning area where he sat at the table and talked with Virgil, Toris and Lyceus totally ignoring his father. Back in the kitchen Xena helped her mother prepare breakfast and she was silent as she did so. Marguerite looked at Xena and Ulysses' words came back to her. _'If you would just get to know her and not judge her'_ she heard in her mind and thought her son was right and she thought she shouldn't be so quick to judge people.

"Xena," Marguerite called and Xena looked at her, "I should say that Julian and I don't want you to marry Ulysses." She said, "I know that," Xena said as she looked at Marguerite. "Well what you don't know is that I feel that we have unjustly judged you, we don't even know you and I am surprised at myself. I'm usually not so quick to judge people, I guess my maternal instincts to protect Ulysses kicked in," Marguerite said and Xena looked at her. "Its okay, I guess I can understand that," Xena said and Marguerite. "Then I hope you will forgive me and allow me to make it up to you by taking the time and getting to know you. Perhaps when there is time we can go for a walk and get to know each other better," Marguerite suggested and Xena nodded as her eyes brightened a little. "I would like that," she said with a small grin and Marguerite grinned as well then went back to what she was doing as did Xena.

When breakfast was ready Xena began bringing things out and she looked at Ulysses who was sitting at the bar. She walked up to him wrapping her arm around his shoulder as she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Guess what?" Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her, "what?" He asked, "your mother apologized to me for judging me without getting to know me. She says she wants to get to know me and wants me to get to know her, so when we have time today we're going to go for a walk." Xena said and Ulysses smiled, "that's great and I know you'll charm her," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes. "You were right everything is going to be okay," Xena said and Ulysses grinned then closed his eyes as Xena leaned in and kissed him. When the kiss ended Xena was grinning from ear to ear as she leaned her forehead against Ulysses' who smiled as he toyed with her fingers. "I love seeing you this happy," he said and Xena continued to smile as she pulled Ulysses up from the stool then kissed him once more.

"I love being this happy," she said and Ulysses leaned in and kissed her once more before she let him lead her over to the table where he sat down and she sat down next to her. Cyrene and Marguerite brought out the last of the food and everyone began to eat and talk amongst themselves. "Oh Ulysses when you're finished could you fix a couple of things for me?" Cyrene asked and he grinned at her, "sure," he said. "My son fixing things, now this I have to see," Julian said and Ulysses just ignored him. When breakfast was done everyone went their separate ways, Julian followed Ulysses outside in the back where Ulysses began to fix a table. "Where did you learn that?" Julian asked but Ulysses acted as if he didn't hear him, "you know you can't go the whole time without talking to me," Julian said to his son. "Watch me," Ulysses said as he stooped down and began sanding a piece of the table down.

"Ulysses I understand you're angry with me," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father. "I'm not angry with you," Ulysses said and Julian looked at him. "You're not angry," Julian said and Ulysses shook his head then looked into his father's eyes. "No I'm not angry with you dad, I'm disappointed in you," Ulysses said then stood and approached his father. "You always taught me not to judge people before getting to know them, to think for myself and stand up for my beliefs. Yet here you are judging Xena for what she is or rather what she isn't, instead of who she is. I'm standing up for the belief that she is a wonderful, intelligent, loving woman who means the world to me but you don't see that. You never have seen what's important to me and what matters to me the most. I've always done what you've wanted, I've always been at your side doing what you asked of me without question. Now all I want from you is to accept the woman that I love for the great person she is and congratulate me on getting married."

Ulysses said as he looked into his father's eyes, "but you won't do that for me will you father? You won't be happy for me. All you will continue to do is criticize the woman I love and the relationship we have. I mean what happened to you dad?" Ulysses asked as he walked over to his father a little bit, "what happened to that great man who use to take his time and made it a priority to get to know people?" Ulysses asked and Julian let out a breath as he looked at his son, "I'm still that same man Ulysses it's just that you're my son," Julian said. "I understand that and I understand that you are concerned for me but if anything you ought to be showing Xena the great man that I've talked about instead of a pompous King." Ulysses said and Julian raised his eyes in surprise at that, "and another thing, how could you think she was just after my money? It's not like her family is poor. They're doing better than most, Tartarus I had a hard time getting her to take the money I left here for her.

You and mother just jumped to conclusions because Xena is a commoner," Ulysses said then shook his head at his father. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, I'm very disappointed in you dad and any way Xena already knows anything she wants I'll give her." Ulysses said then stood there with his arms crossed, "are you finished now?" Julian asked and Ulysses nodded, "all of a sudden I feel like the child and you the parent. The sad thing is that you're right," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father. "I didn't really get to know Xena, the fact is that your mother and I both thought that this was just one of your relationships and that it wasn't going to last long. That's why it didn't matter to us who she was but when you asked her to marry you…Ulysses you have to understand you are a prince and the person you marry is important. It's crucial to the kingdom and its welfare."

Julian said to his son, "don't you think I know that? Do you think the only quality I look for in a woman is how she looks and if she's great in bed? If you think that obviously you listen to Camilla too much," Ulysses said then let out a breath as he spoke to his father. "Do you know what attracted me to Xena the most? The fact that she is different than your average woman, she is strong in body and in mind. The first time I saw her I was actually afraid to speak to her. Dad she challenges me in ways no other woman ever has, I can be myself around her, she'll tell me off, give me advice and criticize me without fear. I can have an intelligent conversation with her, sometimes she makes me feel dumb. She can fight as well as I can maybe even better but her demeanor is still as soft as a woman's. She's a great friend, fantastic lover and will be an amazing wife.

If you give her the chance," Ulysses said to his father and Julian looked into his son's eyes, "you really love her. I can't believe this, my son has finally fallen in love and here I thought I would never see the day," Julian said and Ulysses grinned as he looked down for a moment. "You wanted to know how I changed, Xena is that reason. She made me want to change, to be a better man for myself and for her." Ulysses said and Julian nodded, "I see that, I also see a side of you I have never seen before. A softer and loving side and I'm proud to say it fits you well," Julian said and Ulysses nodded. "So does that mean you've changed your mind?" Ulysses asked, "I'm not saying yes and I'm not saying no." Julian said, "well what are you saying?" Ulysses asked, "I'm saying let me get a chance to really know her. We'll spend a week and a half here but we can't spend more because of…" Julian said and Ulysses nodded.

"I know but dad please understand this, I love Xena with all my heart and whatever your decision I will marry her. I don't want to have to choose between Xena and my family but as I told you yesterday, I will choose and I will choose Xena," Ulysses said and Julian looked at his son. "I understand, you're standing up for what you believe in and think is right. I couldn't be prouder," Julian said then slapped Ulysses on his arm before he turned and headed into the Inn. When he was in the kitchen he talked quietly to Marguerite, "I've decided to talk to Xena and get to know her better," Julian said and Marguerite nodded. "So have I," Marguerite said, "did Ulysses talk to you too?" Julian asked and Marguerite shook her head, "no Cyrene did, apparently Xena knows we don't want her to marry Ulysses. We're going for a walk later on, you're welcome to join us," Marguerite said and Julian nodded.

"I think that's a great idea," he said then placed a kiss on Marguerite's cheek then headed into the dinning area. The rest of the day passed and before they knew it lunch was on them and the Inn was crowded which didn't leave much time for Xena to eat since she was running around the Inn. Ulysses didn't really have much time to eat either since he was keeping the trouble down in the Inn, the people seemed to be getting a little grouchy or perhaps more stressed out with winter approaching. Ulysses had a little to eat and Xena grabbed herself an apple but she soon went back to work around the Inn. It was three hours after lunch and things had finally slowed down until there were but a few patrons in the Inn eating. "Why don't you and Marguerite take this time and go for a walk," Cyrene suggested to Xena who nodded then walked over to Marguerite who was sitting at the table peeling potatoes. "Since its so slow now, we can go for that walk," Xena said to Marguerite who grinned and nodded.

"Just let me go and get Julian he said he wanted to come along as well," Marguerite said as she stood and wiped her hands on the apron that she had been borrowing and she took it off sitting it in the chair she just left. "That is okay with you isn't it?" Marguerite asked Xena who grinned and nodded, "sure it's no problem," she said and when Marguerite was out the door Xena let out a breath. "They're gonna kill me," she said and Cyrene grinned at her daughter. "I swear you can be just as dramatic as Toris," she said to her daughter.

"They just probably want to talk to you together, I'm sure it'll be fine." Cyrene said and Xena looked at her mother, "come with me," she said and Cyrene patted Xena's arm. "You need to talk to them alone, without me and without Ulysses," Cyrene said then walked away before Xena could say anything else. Marguerite walked into the kitchen with Julian behind her and Xena let out a breath, "so are we ready to go?" Xena asked and they nodded, "yea we're ready," Julian said and Xena nodded then headed out the back door holding the door open for Marguerite until Julian did so.

Xena began walking towards one of her favorite spots since it was a beautiful place and she wanted to make the best impression on Ulysses' parents as possible. "How far is this place?" Marguerite asked and Xena looked at her, "not far, we'll be there in a couple of minutes," Xena said and then she looked down at Gemini who had taken it upon herself to tag along with her mistress and Xena was grateful to have at least one friend that she knew of there with her. The walk to where Xena was taking them was quiet, five minutes later they arrived at an open field but they were on a small hill where when you looked down you could see the sun shinning down on the small stream and the miles of green grass.

Xena took them over to a shaded tree, "hang on for a minute," she said and they looked at Xena as she began to climb the tree with ease until she reached what she was looking for. When she had it she jumped down and looked at their surprised faces, "I come out here often," Xena said as she held up a covered blanket in her hands. She took the cover off of it then spread it out on the ground mainly for Marguerite. "Thank you," Marguerite told Xena who nodded as she sat down on the ground and Julian sat down next to Marguerite.

There was silence once more and they looked at Xena as she petted Gemini who laid her head in Xena's lap. "So Xena, it's just you and your mother and brothers?" Marguerite asked and Xena looked at her, "yes, my father left a long time ago," she said and Marguerite nodded. "Do you mind if we ask why?" Julian asked and Xena looked at him then let out a breath as she continued petting Gemini, "my father, whose name is Atrius, was a soldier so he wasn't around much but when he was home, he made it a habit to spend up all the money mother had made and getting drunk.

And when he got drunk or when he wasn't for that matter he like to hit on my mother and when he was at his worse he hit on me. One day he almost beat me to death and that was the last day any of us saw him," Xena said and they looked at her. "I'm sorry you and your family had to go through that," Julian said and Xena hunched her shoulders. "We've come out stronger for it," Xena said as she looked at them. "Do you mind if I ask you guys a question?" Xena asked and they shook their heads, "no, go ahead," Marguerite said and Xena looked down for a minute then back at them.

"What is it about me that you don't like?" She asked, "oh Xena its nothing personal about you that we don't like," Marguerite said. "As far as we're concerned you seem to be a lovely young lady," she said and Xena nodded. "Then why is it that you think…" Xena said as she looked at Julian, "that I just want to marry Ulysses for his money and the position that he holds?" She asked and Julian looked down for a minute, "Ulysses told you about that," he said and she shook her head, "I overheard you talking to him." Xena said and Julian nodded as he looked into Xena's eyes. "I'm sorry for saying that, I had no right, especially since I didn't know you well enough to judge you. But you have to see what we see and understand where we're coming from. Ulysses is our only son and granted he is not the only heir to my throne he is the best choice simply because he is a man. I have no doubt that our daughter Camilla could rule and quite well but problems would occur inside the kingdom and outside as well.

So it is important to us and crucial to our kingdom that Ulysses remain the main heir to the throne and also that he finds a suitable wife and what we mean by suitable is someone of noble or royal blood. When Ulysses told us about you, well we had no problem with the fact that you were a commoner because we thought this was another one of his relationships, albeit he's never said he was in love with anyone. But when it comes to Ulysses and women," Julian started and Xena nodded. "I know all about Ulysses' relationships with the many women he's been with," Xena said and Julian nodded. "Then you can understand our thinking," he said and she nodded. "Any way, we knew you and he were involved but we didn't know how much and we didn't ask. It was a real surprise to us when Ulysses asked you to marry him. Never has my line married a commoner ever and then you're not even of our kingdom, you don't know how things work there, what laws we have and the way things are, the way they work. So you can begin to see some of our concerns," Julian said and Xena nodded.

"I can but none of those concerns present reason enough for Ulysses and I not to be married. You say I'm not of royal and noble blood, that is true but how many women can say that they are the chosen of a God. I am Athena's chosen and in many people's eyes that holds me in a position higher than any nobleman, prince, princess, Queen, or King. I am a god's right hand, the goddess and I share a special bond. And if you're worried about your kingdom being protected through a marriage then if Ulysses marries me you will definitely be protected by Athena herself." Xena said and they listened to what she was saying as she made some good points. "And if you're worried about me fitting in then I should tell you now I rarely fit in anywhere because I have my own mind and I'm not afraid to speak it. However, that does not mean that I would not respect your laws, traditions and ways of living." Xena said and they looked at her, "I think I'm beginning to see some of what Ulysses sees in you," Julian said and Xena gave him a grin. "We still don't know you that well and we still have quite a few concerns," Marguerite said and Xena nodded.

"I understand and I propose everyday around this time we come here and talk so that we can get to know each other better and as for the other concerns you have tell them to me and I'll do my best to reassure you." Xena said and so that's what they spent over an hour doing before they headed back to the Inn. "Ulysses will you calm down," Cyrene told him as he paced back and forth. "How can you tell me to calm down? I can't calm down, my mother and father went on a walk with my girlfriend and the gods only know what they've filled her head with."

He said and Corrinna sat there peeling a peach as she watched Ulysses in amusement, "they've been gone way too long," Ulysses said and Cyrene shook her head at him. "They've just been gone a little over an hour. Ulysses, Xena and your parents need this time alone to work out their differences and to get to know each other," Cyrene said and Ulysses let out a breath as he stopped and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know but I just wish I could have gone with her, my mother I would trust with Xena but my father…" Ulysses said then shook his head. "He'll fill her head about what's best for Ithaca and its people and me and her and on and on and on he'll go until Xena has it in her mind that's he's right and we shouldn't get married, we shouldn't even be together."

Ulysses said, "sounds like you doubt your love for each other," Corrinna said and Ulysses looked at her. "I don't doubt our love I'm just remembering how upset Xena was last night over what she heard my father tell me. She was so close to calling off the wedding, I could see it in her eyes and now she's alone with my father," he said then let out a breath and when he did that it was as if all of his energy left him and he sat down heavily in a chair. Just as he sat down his mother and father walked into the Inn followed by Xena and he hopped right back and up and rushed over to her. "Are you alright? What did they do? Did they say anything mean to you or to hurt your feelings?" Ulysses asked and it seemed all in one breath, "sweetheart calm down, I'm fine and your mother and father were great to me. In fact we had a great time talking to each other and got a lot of things out in the air," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Oh that's good, things like what?" He asked and Xena grinned at him as she caressed his cheek, "what's wrong Ulysses you don't trust your own parents?" Marguerite asked and he turned and looked at his mother, "not when you guys are together," he said and they grinned as they shook their heads.

"I assure you we did nothing but talk and get to know each other, that's all. We asked Xena some questions and she asked us some questions. There was no yelling, no hurtful words, nothing but an intelligent conversation between adults." Julian told his son and Ulysses looked at him for a minute then back at Xena but he kept his father in his peripheral vision. "Is that true?" He asked and Xena grinned and nodded as she looked into Ulysses' eyes, "it is, it was a little scary and awkward at first but we talked and everything worked out just fine." She said and Ulysses let out a breath as he nodded, "I'm glad," he said. "I look forward to our talk tomorrow Xena," Marguerite said then headed out of the kitchen with Julian. "What? What is she talking about?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him, "I'll tell you about it later, right now I need to help mother finish preparing dinner." Xena said and Ulysses was about to say something when Xena raised her eyebrow and he let out a breath, "alright but we will talk about this later." He said and Xena grinned at him as she leaned forward and kissed him softly and when the kiss ended Ulysses grinned at Xena as he shook his head then walked out of the Inn headed to the fields.

The day passed by fairly quickly and when it was time for dinner they all sat down and ate and the atmosphere was noticeably a lot less tense. There was talking and a lot of laughter going on and everyone was just enjoying themselves. As the evening progressed on, the dinner rush came in and they had their hands full for a while but after that was done they were able to relax a while longer. When it got late and the Inn closed everyone headed to bed except for Ulysses who helped Xena clean up the dinning area and while they did that they clowned around and had fun. When they were done, they bid Cyrene a good night who also headed to her room. "Today has definitely been a busy yet interesting day," Xena said as she walked into her room kicking off her shoes and beginning to get undressed. "I'll say," Ulysses said as he leaned against the door looking at Xena.

"You've got more talent than I knew if you can win my parents over in a couple of hours. Tartarus I can't even do that," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she turned around and looked at him. "I guess that means you'll just have to keep me around," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he walked up to her then wrapped her in his arms. "I guess so," he said and Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes while running her hands up and down his arms in and slow motion. "Mmm," Xena moaned just before Ulysses leaned in and kissed her softly and as time passed the kiss became a passionate tasting of lips. "You've really got to tell me how you did that," Ulysses said when the kiss ended and he moaned as Xena leaned in and began kissing and sucking on his neck as she undid his shirt with one hand, her other hand was busy caressing the side of Ulysses' face. "Do you want to know right now?" Xena asked then sucked on Ulysses' earlobe and his mouth opened slightly in pleasure.

"Nnn…no," he stuttered and Xena grinned as she began placing kisses on his cheek, "I didn't think so," she said then kissed him passionately and they both moaned. Soon they stripped their clothes off of each other throwing them all over the room and once they were in the bed they began making passionate love. Half an hour later they were sharing a very deep passionate kiss as Ulysses thrust at a medium pace. One of Xena's hands caressed Ulysses' back and the other gripped the sheet, Ulysses was holding himself up on his forearms and he ran his hand down Xena's arm to her hand that was clenching the sheets and intertwined his fingers with hers. Xena moaned as she ran her other hand up Ulysses' shoulder until she was running her fingers through his hair. A few minutes later she rolled Ulysses onto his back and took control for a moment which he loved, out of all the women he had been with none had really taken control without him prompting them to.

Forty-five minutes later Ulysses lay on his back and Xena lay in his arms and they were silent as they caressed each other basking in the after glow of their lovemaking. "You know I love the way you make love to me," Xena said as she placed a kiss on Ulysses' chest and he grinned as he ran his fingers up and down her back. "Ummm…well I know I love the way you make love to me. No other woman has made me feel the way you make me feel. I love the way you touch me, kiss me, hold me and I definitely love the way you take control of me," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she raised her head and looked into his eyes. "Really?" She asked with a sparkle in her eyes and Ulysses smiled as he caressed her hair, "really," he said then smiled and chuckled as Xena rose up and kissed him softly but passionately.

When the kiss was over she placed a kiss on his chest, "I love you so much," Xena whispered as she looked up at Ulysses while running her finger over his cheek. "I love you too," Ulysses said then rose up a little to kiss Xena and when the kiss ended Ulysses picked up Xena's hand and kissed the back of it twice as she lay her head back down on his chest. A couple of minutes later Gemini jumped onto the bed, "Gemini," Xena said with laughter in her voice. "I think she's jealous," Ulysses said as he stroked the wolf as did Xena. "Nah, tell your daddy you're not jealous, you just want some attention too," Xena said and Gemini proved her right as she lay her head down on Ulysses' other side while he and Xena continued to pet her. "You've spoiled her," Ulysses said and Xena chuckled, "oh yea this is my fault." Xena said in an unbelieving voice and Ulysses grinned at her as he pulled her closer.

"My family," he whispered as he placed a kiss on Xena's forehead and she grinned at that. "So what happened between you and my parents?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned as she pulled the sheet closer to her chest, "I was wondering when you were going to ask me that," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her. "Well as you recall I tried to ask you earlier but um…we became somewhat distracted," Ulysses said with a grin and Xena smiled as she laid on her side her elbow on the pillow as she used her hand to hold up her head.

"I do recall and if you want, we can be distracted again," Xena said as she ran her hand over Ulysses' chest and he smiled at her. "Oh you're a wicked woman," he said and Xena chuckled at him. "Nothing really happened, I just took them to the spot by the stream," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Now that's a spot that has memories," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him. "Now who's being wicked?" She said and he grinned at her, "anyway, the first couple of minutes were awkward because it was so silent, I was thankful that Gemini had followed me." Xena said as he petted the wolf, "they asked me about my father and I told them a little about him, just the basics, then I asked them why they didn't want me to marry you and they told me. I could really understand some of their concerns but being the smart woman that I am, I pointed out a solution to them all," Xena said and Ulysses nodded.

"Let me see, they were worried about you not being of noble and royal blood, probably fitting in at Ithaca, what kind of woman you were," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "To name a few," she said and Ulysses shook his head, "I'm sorry, I should have warned you, my parents can be a bit overbearing at times." Ulysses said, "don't apologize, we really needed this time together to get to know each other. Which is why every day around that time until we leave, we'll go for walks and talk to get to know each other more and more, bit by bit everyday," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Well I guess it's alright, but they can be a bit much to handle when they're together," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him. "I can handle it Ulysses, I've handled a lot worse," she said and he nodded.

"Besides if I can make it through this with just your parents, then I ought to be good when we get to Ithaca," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "Oh Ulysses don't tell me I have to wait more months until you come back again," Xena said as she sat up some and he sat up also, "no, no its nothing like that," he said and she looked at him as she held the sheet to her chest. "Then what is it?" She asked, "well we have to leave in a week because of what happened with the war and everything. My father doesn't want to leave the kingdom unattended for too long," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "Okay," she said and he looked at her as he toyed with her fingers, "you're okay with leaving your family that soon?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned at him, "it's not like I'll be leaving them forever," Xena said then thought about that for a minute.

"I won't be, will I?" She asked and Ulysses grinned as he shook his head, "no, you'll be able to come and visit them as much as you want and they can do the same." He said and Xena grinned and nodded, "besides I'll be seeing them I'm assuming in a couple of months when we start getting ready for the wedding," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "I'm a guy, I know nothing about weddings so it's all up to you when you want to have it?" Ulysses said as he laid back down and Xena looked at him, "I'm not going to make all the decisions myself concerning OUR wedding," Xena said to Ulysses, stressing our when she said it. He looked at her then grinned as he rolled her onto her back lying between her legs and Xena laughed at Ulysses, "all I'm saying is I think it'll be better if you choose when you want to have it and everything else we'll do together," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"You promise?" Xena asked and he grinned at her, "I promise," he said and she smiled as she bit down on her lower lip as she rose up and kissed him some. "Can I bring Gemini and Argo?" Xena asked after the kiss ended and Ulysses nodded then initiated the next kiss. As they kissed Xena wrapped her arms around Ulysses intent on deepening the kiss which is what happened. Ulysses moaned as Xena rolled him onto his back pushing his head down into the pillow as she pushed her tongue into his mouth. "Mmmm," Ulysses moaned as he ran his fingers through Xena's hair while his other hand pulled on the sheet which was the barrier between his body and hers. "Ummm," Xena moaned as Ulysses succeeded in pulling the sheet free and now his hands were running all over her body as he rose up some trying to keep the kiss as deep as it was. A few minutes later Xena finally broke the kiss for air and she was breathing hard as she tilted her head back and moaned as Ulysses began kissing, sucking and nipping on her neck.

Ulysses found a particular sensitive spot on Xena's neck and he sucked on it then nibbled on it pulling at it with his teeth causing Xena to gasp in pleasure. After that Xena grabbed Ulysses' hair pulling him from her neck and up to her lips where they began to kiss deeply and passionately once more. Gemini jumped down off the bed since they were about to roll onto her and Ulysses and Xena began laughing. "Sorry Gemini," Ulysses told the wolf then looked at what she was doing which was fixing herself a place to lie on his clothes. "Why does she always make a bed out of my clothes?" Ulysses asked then Xena turned his head back towards her looking into his eyes as she caressed his cheek. "Is that really what's on your mind right now?" She asked in a sultry tone and he looked into her eyes as he shook his head, "no, you're the only thing on my mind right now," he said.

"You talk the talk but can you walk the walk?" Xena asked with a grin and Ulysses grinned at her then showed her what he could indeed do. An hour into it Xena was on top riding Ulysses and the pleasure was extreme for them both, so much so that Xena began to bang her hand on the wall. Toris tossed and turned in his bed until he got out of bed and banged on the wall, "hey will you guys chill out in there," Toris yelled through the wall. Ulysses rolled Xena onto her back and took things from there and it wasn't long before he was hitting the wall. Toris continued to toss and turn in his bed while holding the pillow to his ears trying to block out the noise which was impossible. He soon got out of bed and left his room and went to Xena's where he knocked on the door. "Hey Xena, can you and Ulysses take it down a notch?"

Toris yelled and then Lyceus came out of his room, "what's wrong?" He asked and Toris looked at his brother then pointed to the door, "that's what's wrong," he said and Lyceus looked at him then put his head to the door and after a minute he pulled it away and grinned at Toris. "They're making too much noise for you huh?" Lyceus asked and Toris looked at him, "this isn't funny. I can't get any sleep," Toris said and Lyceus looked at him. "Well I'd like to help you but seeing as it's not my problem," Lyceus said then grinned as he slapped his brother on his shoulder. "Have a good night," he said then turned and headed back into his room and Toris let out a breath and went back into his room. He laid down and tried to get some sleep but it was just no use, he could still here them so he got out of bed grabbed his pillow and blanket then left his room.

He knocked on Lyceus' door and Lyceus opened the door, "wh…" Lyceus was about to ask when Toris pushed his way into the room. "I'm sleeping with you," Toris said and Lyceus looked at his brother, "um…I don't think it's normal for brothers to have sex together," Lyceus said and Toris looked at his brother. "Not that way you idiot, I'd just figured I'd get some sleep in here," he said and Lyceus let out a breath as he closed the door then went to get back into his bed which he would now be sharing with Toris. "Hey scoot over," Toris told Lyceus who let out a breath as he scooted over until he was almost on the edge of the bed. "You can't scoot any more?" Toris asked who was also on the end of the bed, "no Toris, look this is my bed and my room why don't you sleep on the floor," Lyceus said.

"I don't think so, not after all those times I let you sleep with me when you were scared," Toris said and Lyceus let out a breath. "Toris I was six," he said, "but it wasn't my problem was it? Yet I let you sleep with me out of the goodness of my heart," Toris said and Lyceus let out a breath as he pulled his cover up on him and let out another breath. "Fine but you're not going to make a habit of this," Lyceus said and they both settled down to go to sleep. Back in Xena's room fifteen minutes after Toris went to Lyceus' room they were finally finished. "You were absolutely amazing," Xena said to Ulysses as she raised her head and placed a kiss on his sweaty neck. "Thanks, you were amazing too. Gods that thing you did with your hips," Ulysses said then let out a breath as he shook his head and laughed.

Xena was lying on top of Ulysses and she chuckled at him as she placed a kiss on his cheek, "only for you," she said and he grinned at her. "I love you," he said as he wrapped his arms tighter around her and Xena grinned as she lay with her face basically in his neck, "I love you too," she said and they laid there for a while then fell asleep in their current positions. When morning came they slept well pass an hour after sunrise only waking up once to let Gemini out of the room knowing Cyrene was up and would let the wolf out. In fact they didn't wake up again until there was a knock at the door. Xena moaned as she pushed into Ulysses, "we should probably answer that," Ulysses said with his eyes still closed as he ran his fingers up and down Xena's back. "Yea," she said but didn't move until there was another knock, Xena let out a breath as she got off of Ulysses then got out of the bed picking up Ulysses' shirt putting it on and buttoning it up, it fell to the tops of her thighs.

She opened the door to see Lyceus standing there, "did I interrupt anything?" He asked with a grin and Xena grinned as she pushed him, "only our sleep," she said and Lyceus nodded. "Well mom told me to come and wake you guys for breakfast, after all you need to keep up your strength," Lyceus said with a huge smile and Xena grinned at him as she started trying to hit him but he used his hands and dodged her hits. Ulysses by then had gotten up and put on his pants then walked over to the door wrapping his arms around Xena's waist then proceeded to pick her up and moved her away from Lyceus. "Hey it's no fun now that you have a man to save you," Lyceus said and Xena grinned at him as she wrapped her arms around Ulysses' waist holding on to him and Ulysses grinned as he ran his hand over her hand and arm. "Well you ought to find you a woman who can do the same," Xena said and Lyceus put his hand on chest, "oh that hurt," he said with a grin.

"Hurry up and get dressed, breakfast is almost done," Lyceus said then closed the door for them. Ulysses turned around and looked at Xena, "good morning," he said and she grinned. "Yes it is," she said then closed her eyes as they kissed softly. When the kiss ended Ulysses grinned at Xena, "you look so sexy in my shirt," he said and she smiled at him. "And you look so sexy without it," she said as she ran her hands over his chest. "Gods I love you," Ulysses whispered against Xena's lips and she grinned, "oh yeah?" She said after the kiss then let out a squeal as Ulysses grabbed her thighs and picked her up, her legs automatically wrapping around him. "I can't believe you just did that," she said as she hit his shoulder and he smiled at her. "But you liked it," he said seeing the pleasure and surprise from his actions in her eyes and she grinned at him as she ran her fingers through his hair then leaned down and kissed him softly.

Ulysses stood there moaning as Xena tasted his lips and he tasted hers, when the kiss ended Xena looked down at Ulysses as he continued to hold her. "Lyceus is right about one thing," she said and he looked at her. "And that is?" He asked, "we should eat if only to keep up our strength," Xena said with a smile that got larger as Ulysses laughed at her. "Too true, especially if we have another night like last night," he said and Xena grinned. "Yea, last night was pretty amazing, you showed me that there is definitely more to you than meets the eye." Xena said and Ulysses grinned at her, "that makes both of us. Are you sure you were a virgin?" He asked and she chuckled at him as she placed her hands on his shoulders and hopped down. "You tell me, I know you felt it before you broke through it," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he wrapped his arms around Xena pulling her to him.

"That was the most special and beautiful night I have ever had," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she nodded. "I completely gave you my heart that night," she said as Ulysses leaned in. "And I thank you and the gods for that everyday. The first day I saw you I gave you my heart, the first time we kissed I gave you my soul and on that night I gave myself to you in a way that I had never given it to anyone before. I surrendered myself completely and utterly to you and I have not regretted it, in fact that is the best decision I will have ever made in my life." Ulysses said and Xena just looked into his eyes as she caressed his face, "I don't know why the gods decided to bless us with the love that we have but I'm glad that they did," Xena said and Ulysses grinned.

"The love that we have, that we share is greater than the gods, this goes beyond them, it's all about us, we complete each other." Ulysses said as he ran his fingers over the half circle on Xena's necklace before he leaned in and kissed her softly but passionately. "We need to get dressed," Xena said against Ulysses' lips and he nodded but kissed her again. They stood there for a while kissing and then they finally decided to get cleaned up and dressed then headed up stairs. "So you guys decided to get up," Cyrene said and Xena grinned at her mother, "well you did tell Lyceus to come and get us didn't you?" Xena asked grinning as Ulysses wrapped his arms around her placing a kiss on her cheek and Marguerite watched her son seeing how happy he was. "Yea, but that didn't mean you were going to come though," Cyrene said.

"True, your daughter is a sweet but delicious temptation," Ulysses said and Xena opened her mouth in surprise as she grinned then elbowed Ulysses while everyone else in the kitchen chuckled. "I can't believe you just said that," Xena said as she turned around and hit Ulysses on his arm and she did it again but on the third time he started blocking her hits. "Hey I was only speaking the truth," Ulysses said with laughter in his voice which made Xena smile and try harder. Ulysses caught Xena's hands then pulled her to him smiling in triumph and she smiled at him because she let him win and leaned in as he leaned down slightly so that they were sharing a soft kiss. Xena's mother and Ulysses' mother both smiled at their children as they stood there kissing. Toris walked into the kitchen followed by Julian and Lyceus, "oh for the love of the gods didn't you guys do enough last night," Toris said which made them end the kiss.

"You're just upset because you aren't getting any," Xena said to her brother while her arms were still wrapped around Ulysses and his arms were wrapped around Xena. Lyceus snickered at Xena's remark while Toris walked up to his sister, "you know you're right, I am upset because I'm not getting any…" he said then took a step forward. "SLEEP," Toris yelled at them. "I didn't hear anything last night," Cyrene said and Toris let out a breath as he looked at his mother. "You never hear anything mom, you never hear when Lyceus has a girl in his room," Toris said. "Hey," Lyceus said since his brother was basically telling on him. "Tartarus you don't even hear when I have a girl in my room," Toris said. "Well that would be because you never have one in your room," Lyceus said and Toris smacked his brother on the back of his head. "Hey," Lyceus said as he swung at his brother, "enough you two," Cyrene told her sons.

"All I'm saying is can you guys keep it down, maybe get it all out of your system while we're all awake," Toris said and by then Ulysses had sat down and Xena was sitting on his lap with Ulysses' arms wrapped around her. "Sure thing Toris you just help mother cook, see that everyone in the Inn has what they need," Xena said. "Chop wood, fix things around the Inn," Ulysses continued and then Xena began again. "Serve food, have men pinching your ass, make beds," Xena said and Ulysses chuckled in Xena's shoulder about the part with men pinching her ass. "Alright," Toris said then let out a breath, "I'll just continue to sleep with Lyceus," he said. "I don't think so, I can not take another night of your snoring," Lyceus said and Toris just ignored him. They all sat down at the table, a few minutes later Virgil joined them and the guards ate in the dinning area so that they could keep an eye on things.

As they sat down and ate breakfast it came natural to Xena and Ulysses the things they did. Marguerite and Julian watched as they ate their own breakfast how Xena put butter and jam on Ulysses' toast and he poured her some juice and he added a little salt to her potatoes while she cut his toast in half. Ulysses picked up a potato with his fork and fed it to Xena who smiled and nodded that he put the right amount of everything that she wanted on them. Xena picked up a piece of toast and fed it to Ulysses who nodded as well and then they began eating, "it's amazing, it's as if they've known each other for years," Marguerite said and Julian nodded. "It took us a while before we did that," he said and Marguerite nodded, they continued to eat but watched Xena and Ulysses out of the corner of their eyes.

When they were done they all sat there for about fifteen minutes letting their food digest and then Lyceus, Toris and Virgil stood getting ready to go to the fields. "I'll see you later," Ulysses told Xena as he got ready to head to the field with the others then leaned in and kissed her softly. "I think I'm going to go with you guys today," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father. "Sure if you think you can handle the work," Ulysses said with a grin and Julian grinned at his son as he folded his arms. "Are you trying to calling me old?" Julian asked, "I'm not trying," Ulysses said and Julian pushed his son and Ulysses chuckled at his father. "Nah I'm kidding, we could use your help," Ulysses said and Julian nodded, "that's what I thought," he said then leaned down and gave Marguerite a brief kiss before he followed the others out of the door and Ulysses looked at Xena and winked at her before he left, causing her to smile.

So the day was spent pretty much as it was usually spent. The guys came in for lunch all sweaty and dirty and when lunch was over they headed back to the fields and as planned Xena went for her walk with Marguerite but it was just she and Marguerite since Julian was in the fields. "So Xena woman to woman," Marguerite said as they walked to the stream, "is my son a good lover?" She asked and Xena grinned at Marguerite, "you know you remind me quite a bit of my mother," Xena said and Marguerite smiled. "Yea, I like your mother she's a good woman and we get a long so well, it's almost as if we're sisters." Marguerite said and Xena nodded and when they reached the spot Xena pulled out the blanket and they sat down under the tree. "You haven't answered my question?" Marguerite said and Xena looked at her, "what was it again?"

She asked and Marguerite looked at her giving Xena one of those motherly looks making her smile. "To answer your question your son is a fantastic lover. Its no wonder women throw themselves at him, he screams confidence in knowing how to please a woman. But that's not what makes him a good lover for me," Xena said then looked at Marguerite. "I'm not sure if I should be talking to you about this though," Xena said and Marguerite nodded. "I understand but you know a part of Ulysses that few if any know. I want to see what you see in him, what makes you love him," Marguerite said and Xena looked into her eyes where she saw no hint of deceit so she nodded. "There is no doubt that Ulysses knows how to please a woman, he's got the equipment and knows how to use it.

But its not what he does that makes him a good lover, its how he does it and how it makes me feel. There are times when he kisses me so softly and loving I can feel his love through that kiss through that simple act. The way when a kiss ends he looks into my eyes while he caresses my cheek with his fingers ever so slightly. Then there are times when we share deep, passionate kisses and it's like our love for each other, our passion and need just bubbles to the top. And it's…" Xena said then shook her head, "I don't know how to quite explain it but it's like we're craving for each other there's this desperate need but we're taking our time. It's almost like our souls are feeding off of each other and we're falling deeper in love, at times like those we can go for hours." Xena said and Marguerite sat there and listened to every word and she could see that Xena was deeply in love with her son.

An hour later they were still sitting there talking, "is he romantic?" Marguerite asked really interested and intrigued to know about this part of her son, the part of himself that he kept secret. "Yes he is," Xena said with a smile on her face, "its nothing fancy but it's the little things that he does. There was this one time where the Inn was packed and I was on my feet non stop all day until we closed. My feet were killing me and I was dead tired, Ulysses came to my room and rubbed my feet while he sung to me." Xena said and Marguerite's eyes opened wide in surprise, "he can sing?" She asked and Xena grinned as she nodded, "quite well actually. Anyway after that he was about to leave but I asked him to stay because in a way I needed him and that night he held me in his arms and we've never slept apart ever since. There was also another time when it was a raining day and we slept in, in fact this was the day right after.

He brought me breakfast in bed, fed some of it to me by hand and I did the same. After that we lounged around and talked, he read me a story," Xena said and Marguerite looked at the smile on Xena's face and her eyes which were filled with love for her son. "He is very romantic and loving and I just love him," Xena said and Marguerite smiled as she nodded, "so I see," she said and Xena grinned as she blushed a little. "I think its time that we headed back," Xena said as she looked up at the sky and Marguerite nodded and grinned at Xena who helped her up. "I had a great time," Marguerite said and Xena grinned at her. "So did I," Xena said and after she put the blanket up they headed back to the Inn. "So did Julian do some of those things when you guys first got together?"

Xena asked and Marguerite grinned, "yes, Julian was and still is very romantic and loving. He would bring me flowers everyday and we would sit and talk for hours on end. When we made love we would hold each other afterwards sharing soft kisses and caresses," Marguerite said and Xena nodded. "Sounds to me that Ulysses is a lot like his father," Xena said and Marguerite grinned and nodded, "they are so much a like which is why they're always getting into it, they're both so stubborn and strong willed." Marguerite said and Xena nodded, "so does it mean a lot to you that Ulysses has money?" Marguerite asked and Xena shook her head, "no, my family and I have a good life here and whatever else I need Athena provides me with." Xena said and Marguerite looked at her, "what is it like, being the chosen of a god?" She asked and Xena let out a breath as she looked up at the sky, "it's incredibly hard yet amazingly fulfilling."

Xena said and Marguerite nodded, "Ulysses tells me you can fight quite well, almost better than him." Marguerite said and Xena grinned at the last part of the comment, "so does that mean Athena has given you special abilities?" Marguerite asked and Xena shook her head, "Athena doesn't give anything, you have to earn it. I knew how to fight before I met her she just helped me to hone my skills so that I could learn how to use them on a more experienced level. The training hasn't been easy, on the contrary it's been hard and difficult but she has patience and she has helped me work through everything even matters that don't concern my training, she is a great friend, woman and mentor." Xena said and Marguerite nodded, "so all you do is train?" Marguerite asked and Xena shook her head, "not any more. I go on missions which usually takes two days maybe more, depending on what I have to do," Xena said.

"And you would continue to do this after you were married to Ulysses?" Marguerite asked and Xena looked at her, "yes, it's my job, my responsibility and part of who I am." Xena said and Marguerite nodded, "I understand that but once you're married you're going to have a new job, new responsibilities, becoming a princess then one day Queen will also be apart of who you are." Marguerite said and Xena nodded, "yes I know and understand that but you also have to know and understand that just because I'm marrying Ulysses doesn't mean I'm going to give up what I do or who I am." Xena said, "and I'm not asking you to do that, I just want to make sure you understand what's going to happen." Marguerite said and by then they could see the Inn, "have you talked to Ulysses about it?" Marguerite asked and Xena shook her head, "he knows where I stand on that subject," Xena said.

"None the less you should talk to him and make sure he knows and understand and see how he feels about it, the key to making a relationship, a marriage work and last is communication." Marguerite said and Xena nodded. When they walked into the kitchen they immediately went right to work with helping Cyrene continue preparing dinner. Night was beginning to fall and the guys finally came in for the night once again covered in dirt and sweat. "You guys have a good time?" Xena asked as they all flopped down in chairs at the table, "damn dirt doesn't want to be dug," Lyceus said while Ulysses leaned his head forward and moaned as Xena massaged his shoulders. "Go get cleaned up so you can eat," Xena whispered in Ulysses' ear then placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'm not hungry and even if I was, I'm too tired to eat," Ulysses said as he leaned his head back and looked up at Xena who looked down at him.

"Still, you need to eat, so go get cleaned up," Xena said then leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead and Ulysses closed his eyes at her healing and loving touch. "Come on," Xena said as she took Ulysses' hand and pulled him out of his chair and he let out an exhausted breath as he stood. "Xena's right sweetheart," Marguerite told Julian as she stood behind him caressing the sides of his neck and he let out a breath as well as he stood. "That goes for the rest of you also," Cyrene told Lyceus, Toris and Virgil. "Ah come on mom," Toris whined and she looked at him as she placed her hand on her waist, "what did I just say Toris? You know better than to sit down at my table dirty any way," she fussed at her sons considering Virgil to be like a son to her so they let out breaths as they stood and went their own ways to get cleaned up.

When they were all cleaned up they came back to the kitchen and sat right back down at the table where Xena, Marguerite and Cyrene then proceeded to bring the food over and sit down themselves to eat, Corrinna joining them as usual, Marguerite and Julian had no idea of Cyrene and Corrinna's relationship, they just assumed she was a close friend. "I'm going to bed," Ulysses said fifteen minutes after he had finished eating and Xena looked at him, "no dessert?" She asked and he shook his head, "save some for me," he said then leaned over and kissed Xena softly before he stood and headed downstairs to Xena's room where he put on his pajama pants then crawled into the bed on his side and as soon as his head hit the pillow he was gone to sleep. The others followed suite as well and the women were the only one's who were up besides the guards who kept an eye on things until the Inn closed and even then at least half of the guards stood watch outside at night.

When night fell and it came time to close the Inn and clean up, Marguerite who was usually in bed at this time, helped Xena, Cyrene and Corrinna clean up which helped things go by a lot faster. When they were done and the Inn was locked up they all headed to bed. When Xena got to her room Ulysses was knocked out. So she quietly got dressed for bed and Gemini settled herself on the rug by the bed. Xena got into bed and let out a breath as she turned on her side facing away from Ulysses and as she lay there she thought about the last thing she and Marguerite talked about_. 'He does know that I don't plan on giving up being Athena's chosen just because I'm marrying him?'_ Xena asked herself and as she lay there and thought about that she eventually dosed off to sleep.

An hour after she was asleep Ulysses scooted up behind her wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close to him. Xena moaned as she ran her hand over his arm and they both stayed asleep. When morning came Ulysses was still deeply asleep so Xena carefully eased herself out of his arms then quietly put on her shorts and sleeveless short shirt, what she wore when she exercised. "Come on Gemini," Xena said softly to the wolf who looked at her mistress then stood and walked over to the door. Xena opened the door and Gemini went out first and then Xena who closed the door behind her. When Xena walked into the kitchen she bid her mother and good morning then walked outside where she stretched while Gemini took care of her business. When she had stretched enough she began running and Gemini was at her side.

She ran three miles then stopped to do some exercises before she headed back to the Inn doing a total of six miles; and Gemini kept up with her the whole time, jumping over any and everything Xena jumped over. When she got back to the Inn so was covered in sweat. She walked into the kitchen where her mother, Corrinna and Marguerite sat at the table talking while they sipped on their tea. "Morning," Xena said as she walked over to the counter, "have a nice run dear?" Cyrene asked and Xena nodded as she drained a cup of cool water, "yea, it was refreshing," she said. "I'm going take a shower," Xena said as she sat the cup down on the counter then headed back downstairs where like she said she went to go take a shower. Xena was just getting out of the shower when Ulysses woke up.

He rose his head and looked around the room for Xena and when he didn't see her he assumed she was in the kitchen helping Cyrene. He let out a breath as he rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling before he decided to get up. He was sitting on the side of the bed rubbing his face with his hands when Xena walked into the room with a towel wrapped around her body and hair. "I see you're up," Xena said as she passed by Ulysses and he nodded as he stood and stretched popping things into place. "Yea, thanks for letting me sleep in late," Ulysses said as he walked over to the wash basin pouring some water into it and soaking a cloth so that he could wipe down his face, chest and underarms. When he was done he rinsed out his mouth then used a tool to clean his teeth. "It was no problem," Xena said as she put on her underwear then sat down on the bed taking the towel off of her head and with it she dried her hair a little bit more before she used a comb and started combing the tangles out.

"I know you guys worked real hard yesterday," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he sat down next to Xena on the bed then laid back. "That dirt absolutely did not want to come up and then it seemed like all the tools we used were dull even after I sharpened them all." Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she added oil to her hair and began brushing it, "yea, this season can be the hardest to plant and to harvest," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he ran his hands over his face. "Ulysses," Xena called after a few minutes of silence, "hmm?" Ulysses answered, "you know that once we're married I'm still going to be Athena's chosen, I'm still going to train and go on missions?" Xena asked and Ulysses lowered his hands as he looked at her or her back anyway. "Yea I know that," he said and Xena nodded as she continued brushing her hair, "and how do you feel about it?"

Xena asked and Ulysses took that moment to sit up and place a kiss on Xena's shoulder, "I'm fine with it, why?" Ulysses asked and Xena turned her body some and looked into Ulysses' eyes. "So you don't expect me to do all those things wives do? I mean I'm going to be doing those things and more, but you do understand that some of my missions last as long as two weeks and some can last longer?" Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "yea I understand. All I ask is that you don't put your work before us, I don't want it to come between us," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "I understand that because I would ask the same from you. I just wanted to make sure that you knew that things wouldn't change as far as me being Athena's chosen goes when we get married."

Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and grinned as he grabbed the front of the towel pulling Xena towards him. "I understand Xena. I don't want you to change to fit my expectations or anyone else's, I love the way you are. Stubborn, disobedient, sexy when you're angry," Ulysses said with a grin and Xena grinned at him as she leaned in and tasted his lips. As they kissed Ulysses ran his hand over Xena's thigh and she grinned as she pushed him away, "what?" He asked, "can't right now. I've got to get dressed and go help mom," Xena said then stood and Ulysses stood behind her. She walked over to the table where she sat her brush down but didn't move as Ulysses stood behind her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. He leaned down and began kissing and sucking on her neck and Xena closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side silently giving him the invitation to continue.

After a couple of minutes Ulysses turned Xena around and kissed her passionately and as they kissed Ulysses pushed Xena back against the table pushing the towel up so that he could caress her thighs. "I really have to go," Xena said when the kiss ended and she moaned as Ulysses kissed on her neck. "Trust me, I won't be long," Ulysses said as he placed kisses all around Xena's ear. "Or should I say you won't be long," he whispered seductively in her ear before he sucked her earlobe into his mouth feeling the shiver go through Xena's body. He began to kiss his way down Xena's body pulling the towel loose as he did so. Ten minutes later Xena's hands were clenching the table, her eyes were closed, head tilted back as she constantly moaned. Ulysses meanwhile had his head buried between Xena's thighs enjoying himself as he tasted her sweet, addictive nectar.

"Ummm…Unnnngh," Xena moaned ten minutes later as she bit down on her lip to keep herself from crying out which was hard considering the extreme pleasure she was feeling from Ulysses' attention. "Unnngh…ha…ha," Xena moaned then let out breathy moans as she felt Ulysses push his tongue into her entrance. Her hand shot from the table to his head that was still buried deep between her thighs and he moaned at her taste and as she pulled him closer. Twenty minutes later Xena came up the stairs and into the kitchen, "are you sure you're clean Xena? I don't think you spent enough time in the shower," Corrinna said with sarcasm and a smile on her face. "I got a little distracted," Xena said and right after she said that Ulysses came up the stairs and she looked at him then smiled when he winked at her.

"A lot distracted," Xena said as she grabbed Ulysses' belt pulling him towards her and he smiled as he leaned in meeting her half way for a very deep passionate kiss. They all grinned as they shook their heads at them, "so I see you're not tired any more Ulysses," his mother said when the kiss ended and Ulysses grinned as he continued to look into Xena's eyes while caressing her cheek. "I don't stay tired for long. Do I?" Ulysses said directing the question part of his statement to Xena who smiled as she bit down on her lower lip, "no, my baby has the stamina of a bull and more," Xena said with a grin as she pulled Ulysses' closer to her. "All right," Corrinna said with a smile at what Xena said. Cyrene and Marguerite couldn't help but grin at what Xena said and when they kissed once more.

They were still kissing at Lyceus and Toris came up the stairs into the kitchen, "oh for the love of the gods," Toris said when he saw his sister and Ulysses. He shook his head as he sat down at the table, "I don't know why they even bother with getting out of bed," he said. Xena ended the kiss and placed soft kisses on Ulysses' lips, "alright parents in the room," Cyrene said and Xena grinned at her mother then took Ulysses' hand and led him over to the table where he sat down and she kissed him once last time before she went to help her mother. "Where's dad?" Ulysses asked, "right here," Julian said as he walked through the kitchen door making his way over to the table and sitting down. "I have to give it to you boys, the work you do is hard and exhausting," Julian said and Ulysses grinned.

"Does that mean you won't be joining us today?" He asked and Julian looked at his son, "no I'm still helping you guys. It's been a while since I've literally gotten my hands dirty with actual dirt and in its own way it's soothing and relaxing." Julian said, "you know Virgil said the same things. What's so relaxing about it?" Lyceus asked and Ulysses looked at him, "when you do nothing but deal with other people all day, every day and their problems, working in quiet fields with nothing but nature around you can be quite soothing." Ulysses said and Julian nodded, "its hard work but you're doing something really important." Julian said, "we never looked at it that way," Toris said and they all talked for a while with Virgil joining them and even after breakfast was finished and they began eating they still talked and laughed.

They next couple of days passed by and things were going pretty good with Xena and Ulysses' parents, they could clearly see that Ulysses and Xena were deeply in love with each other. So they finally gave Xena and Ulysses their blessing to get married but they also warned them that there would be people in Ithaca who wouldn't take the news well and would try to oppose their marriage. On that day Xena let her family know that in a couple of days she would be leaving with Ulysses to go to Ithaca but that they would see her when the winter was over since she had decided that she wanted the wedding to be in the beginning of spring and Ulysses agreed with her thinking that was a good time for them to get married and a perfect time for them to have a honeymoon.

There were three days before they would be leaving, it was late at night, and Xena and Ulysses lay in bed. Ulysses was asleep after he and Xena had a round of lovemaking but Xena lay in bed awake since she had something on her mind. Xena eased herself out of Ulysses' arms and moved to her side of the bed where she lay on her back staring up at the ceiling as she thought about her family and how they would fare out when she wasn't there. Xena pulled the sheet close to her chest as she continued to stare up at the ceiling. She had been laying there for a while just thinking about that and how things would be once she got to Ithaca. She never really cared about people accepting her but these were Ulysses' people, some were probably his friends and she wanted them to like her and she wanted to make a good impression but she wouldn't change who she was to do that, so it left her with a dilemma.

An hour passed by as Xena continued to lay there and think. Ulysses moaned as he moved in the bed a little his hand reaching out to touch Xena but when he didn't feel her he opened his eyes and saw Xena who still lay on her back as she thought. Ulysses took in a deep breath and let it out as he turned on his side scooting up next to Xena. He placed a kiss on her shoulder as he cuddled up to her and she grinned as she ran her hand over his cheek, "why aren't you asleep?" Ulysses asked and Xena let out a breath, "had a lot on my mind," she said and Ulysses was quiet for a moment. "What are you worried about my love?" Ulysses asked and Xena turned on her side so that she was face to face with Ulysses looking into his eyes, "how do you know I'm worried about something?" She asked and Ulysses grinned as he ran his fingers from her shoulder down her arm, "I know you."

He said, "when you're worried about something you don't sleep," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes as she caressed his cheek. "Tell me," Ulysses whispered as he looked into her eyes while he picked up her left hand and placed a kiss on her hand right by the ring. "I'm worried about my family, what's going to happen to them when we leave. We're leaving at sort of a bad time. Do you know how hard it is to take care of the fields during the winter? Having three extra hands were great but we're leaving and I usually help them but I'm leaving so that just leaves them to do it by themselves. When I'm not helping them I'm helping my mother. I do the extra cooking, I do most of the clean up and when guest need things I get it for them." Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "you are the extra hands," Ulysses said.

"Yes," Xena said as she rose up on her elbow and looked down at Ulysses. "And I don't feel comfortable with leaving them, especially when I know things are going to get so hard for them." Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "so you would feel better if they had help?" Ulysses asked and Xena nodded, "yea, I would feel much better but let's face it, we don't have money to pay for extra hands in the fields as well as in the Inn." Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "you do now," he said and Xena looked at him. "What are you talking about?" She asked, "I am a prince you know," Ulysses said as he sat up pulling the sheet back so that his butt wasn't out. "Ulysses I can't take your money," Xena said and he looked at her. "Why not? I have enough to help you," Ulysses said.

"For one it's going to make it seem like what your parents were thinking is true, I'm after your money when I'm clearly not. And…" Xena was about to say when Ulysses leaned in and kissed her softly and when the kiss ended he looked into her eyes. "I know you're not after my money. This is a chance to help your family who will soon become my family. I don't nor will I ever see giving them money to help them as a burden. Besides, we're about to be married and my money is your money," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him. "Are you sure?" She asked and he nodded as he caressed her cheek, "I'm sure," he said and she looked at him and nodded. "I'll talk to mother about it in the morning," she said and Ulysses nodded, "good, now what else is bothering you?"

He asked and Xena looked at him, "How…" she started to ask and Ulysses looked at her with a grin and Xena grinned back. "Well if you must know I'm worried about what its going to be like when we get to Ithaca." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "you're worried about what the people will think of you," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. He let out a breath as he looked at her, "truthfully, there will be some who will like you and come to accept you for you and the majority of the others won't like you. They'll pretend to and talk about you behind your back and then there are those who won't like or approve of you and will make it known. It's a real cut throat, dog eat dog kind of world but I have no doubt you can handle it." Ulysses said and Xena looked down for a moment as she toyed with his fingers then looked up at him. "Thanks for the confidence," she said and he grinned at her, "you're welcome."

He said then watched as Xena picked up Ulysses' hand some and leaned down the rest of the way as she placed a kiss on the back of his hand then leaned her face against it. "Come here," he said as he laid down and Xena laid down in his arms placing a kiss on his chest then laid her head back down. Ulysses placed a kiss on Xena's forehead as he ran his fingers up and down her back until she dosed off, her concerns having been dealt with. Ulysses looked down at Xena and he grinned then leaned in and placed another kiss on her forehead, "I love you," he whispered with his lips still against her forehead and then he gave her another kiss before he too fell back to sleep.

When morning came and Xena had the time she talked to her mother about what she and Ulysses had talked about last night. "I don't know Xena, I wouldn't feel comfortable taking money from them," Cyrene said as she sat at the table cutting up carrots to put in a stew since it was chilly outside. "Mom I know how you feel, the truth is I feel the same way," Xena said and Cyrene looked at her daughter. "Then why do you want me to take it?" She asked and Xena let out a breath as she leaned back in her chair, "because it would ease my mind. Mom I'm not going to be here to lend extra hands where it is needed, I don't want you guys to struggle more than we already are. The money that Ulysses will give us will allow you to hire extra hands for the fields so Lyceus and Toris don't work themselves to death and extra help in the kitchen and around the Inn so you don't work yourself to death."

Xena said and Cyrene let out a breath as she looked down while continuing to chop carrots. Xena looked at her mother then reached her hand out across the table and placed it on her mother's hand. Cyrene raised her head and looked into her daughter's eyes where she saw love and concern, "and should this winter be harsh and you fall on hard times you'll have money to fall back on." Xena said and Cyrene let out a breath as she stood, "Xena," she said as she walked over to the stove to stir a pot and Xena stood as well. "If you won't do it for you then do it for your sons. Lyceus and Toris should have more of a life than spending all day in the fields working themselves to death. Think of then Inn, you built this place with your blood and your sweat and I know you don't want to see it go down." Xena said and Cyrene leaned against the counter as she listened to her daughter.

"Do it for me so I don't have to spend countless hours worrying about my family and if you guys are doing okay," Xena said and Cyrene looked at her daughter. "I don't know how Ulysses refuses you anything," she said with a grin. "I don't," Ulysses said as he walked into the kitchen and over to Xena. "I give her whatever she wants," he said as he stood next to her and Xena grinned at him. "So what do you say Cyrene, will you let me help you?" Ulysses asked and Cyrene looked at the man that would one day soon marry her daughter and she let out a breath and nodded. "Alright, but the moment you're not able to help you let me know, I don't want to be a burden on you or your family." Cyrene said and Ulysses looked at her as he walked up to her, "as I told Xena, you, Toris and Lyceus could never be a burden. I don't consider my family a burden," he said then leaned forward and placed a kiss on Cyrene's forehead and she grinned at him.

"I see what made you fall in love with him," Cyrene said to Xena who walked up next to Ulysses who wrapped his arm around Xena and she leaned into him. "That's a dangerous smile you have," Cyrene told Ulysses who grinned then placed a kiss on Xena's forehead and as Cyrene looked at how happy her daughter was and how in love Ulysses seemed to be with her she knew Xena would be okay.

**Continued in**

**Chapter Ten: New Surroundings**

**Positive and Negative feedback is welcomed**

**And will be much appreciated. So please let me**

**Know how I am doing. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. The songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. lol 

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together.

**Chapter Ten: New Surroundings**

The days went by fast and Xena began to get her things in order for when she would be leaving with Ulysses and his parents. Throughout the next two days, she went around doing everything that she could do and that she promised her mother and brothers she would do and still managed to make the time to go on her daily walks with Marguerite and Julian.

"So Xena, you really want to marry my son?" Julian asked and Xena grinned as she looked into Julian's eyes, "I really, really do. I don't know if you've seen it with the short time you've been here, but I really love Ulysses." She said as she looked at them and they looked at her. "We see that you care for each other very deeply," Marguerite said and Xena looked at her. "Is that all you see Marguerite, or is that all you want to see? Does it really upset you that your son is in love with a peasant?" Xena asked and Marguerite looked into Xena's eyes as she spoke, "Xena, there are things here which you don't understand, which Ulysses has yet to understand.

It doesn't bother me that you're a peasant, I just need to know the type of woman you are, the type of wife you will be and the type of Queen you will become." Marguerite said and Xena nodded, "I know that you love Ulysses and you only want the best for him and I promise you, I swear to you, that it is me. I love Ulysses," Xena said as she looked into their eyes and they looked into hers, "I love him and I know I'll make him happy, I'll be a great wife and I'm sure with your help I'll become a great Queen." Xena said and they looked at her then at each other and she let out a breath, "look, we can sit here for hours, days, weeks and months but it won't change the fact that I love Ulysses and he loves me. I'm not going to keep trying to convince you on how much we love each other and that my intentions towards him are honest and true.

I'm just trying to get you guys see that no matter what, we are getting married, with or without your blessing or your approval but we would prefer, I would prefer, to have them both." Xena said and they looked at her, "we just need time Xena but we do like you and I believe that the more time we spend with each other the more we'll get to know you," Julian said and Xena grinned and nodded. "That's all I can ask for," she said and they grinned at her. They sat there for ten more minutes talking before they headed back to the Inn. Between all of what was going on with her getting ready to go and everything else, Xena exhausted herself to the point where all she could do at night was fall down on the bed.

"Are you alright?" Ulysses asked as he looked at Xena since he was already in the bed lying on his side. "I'm tired," she said as she hugged her pillow to her. "How about I give you a massage," he said as he rose up on his knees. "I'd love that," she said then sat up a little so that she could pull her shift over her head, dropping it to the floor just like she fell back to the bed. Ulysses softly ran his hands over Xena's back before he began massaging her shoulders, "gods you're tense," he said as he worked on her stiff shoulders and Xena closed her eyes and moaned as she began to relax.

"I've been running around all days for the last couple of days, trying to get everything done before we leave tomorrow," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "I know, I've barely seen you for that last three days," he said then rubbed a little harder as he worked out a knot in her back. "Mmmm…I'm sorry baby, I just want to make sure everything's okay before I leave, you know its not easy leaving my home, my family, all that I've ever known." She said and Ulysses nodded, "you're not leaving them forever Xena," he said and she let out a breath as she opened her eyes and looked at the wall. "I know but sometimes it feels like it, I just…I just want them to be okay," she said and Ulysses let out a breath as he stopped massaging Xena.

"Do you want to stay?" He asked and Xena turned onto her back with no regard for that fact that she was practically naked. "No," she said as she looked into his eyes and then she let out a breath as she toyed with his fingers, "I do want to stay home Ulysses, this is all I've ever really known but I want to go with you." She said and Ulysses looked into her eyes, "are you sure Xena? Cause we don't have to leave, if you want to stay, tell me now and we will. My home is where ever you are Xena and all I want is for you to be happy," he said and Xena looked into his eyes seeing that he meant that. She grinned a little grin as she looked at him, "come here," she said as she pulled on his arm and he laid down so that his lower half was on the bed but his upper half was hovering over Xena.

She looked into his eyes as she ran her hand over his cheek, "I love you so much Ulysses and the fact that you are willing to give up your home and live here with me, makes me love you more." Xena said then let out a breath, "I'm not really afraid of leaving my home, I'm just really worried about my mother and brothers. But that doesn't mean I don't want to come with you, I do, I really do. I want to see Ithaca, this beautiful island that you grew up on, your kingdom." She said with a grin and he grinned as well, "I want to meet your friends, your enemies, your old haunts. But more than that, I want to become your wife and one day your Queen. I want to be with you," she said and Ulysses grinned.

He looked into Xena's eyes as he leaned down and kissed her softly and Xena moaned as she ran her hand over Ulysses' cheek. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes, "I love you Xena, I love you," he said and she smiled as she looked into his eyes. She pulled him down for another soft kiss that soon became a passionate tasting of lips. As they kissed Xena ran her hands over Ulysses' back as she pushed up into him and as she went back down for a second time, she ran her nails over his back. Ulysses took a sharp intake of breath through his nose as he moaned, "mmmm," he moaned, when Xena did that it always managed to turn him on.

Ten minutes passed as they lay there kissing and softly caressing each other. The kiss only ended when Xena began to undo Ulysses' pajama pants. He ended the kiss and looked into Xena's eyes as he tried to catch his breath, "I thought you were tired," he said and Xena grinned as she began to pull his pants down, raising herself up some, her lips brushing against his as she did. "I was but I'm not anymore," she said then kissed him softly and when the kiss ended Ulysses licked his lips as he looked at Xena. "But ummm…" he stumbled, especially when Xena pushed his pants off using her feet. He began to stumble even more so when she opened her legs and it was as if his body had a mind of its own as he situated himself between Xena's legs.

"Are you going to deny me?" She asked as she placed his hand on the band of her underwear and together they began pulling them down. Ulysses looked into Xena's eyes as he licked his lips and shook his head, "never," he breathlessly whispered and Xena grinned as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I didn't think so," she said then pulled him down for a kiss, that started off softly but soon progressed to much more. They began making love and neither one of them knew how they did it but they seemed to always be able to take their time, enjoying the pleasure. Half an hour later, Ulysses was thrusting in and out of Xena at a medium pace and such delicious feelings were running through them both.

"Unnnngh," Xena moaned as she and Ulysses continued to kiss and as they did so, she brought her hand up to grasp at the headboard. Ulysses' hand grasped at the sheet as he pushed deep and a little harder into Xena, "Unnngh…mmmmm," he moaned as he tasted her sweet lips and as they continued to kiss he brought his hand up to hers and their fingers intertwined as they continued to make love. Twenty minutes later they both released, their moans being swallowed up by each other's mouths. Ulysses continued to lay on Xena for a minute as he caught his breath a little bit before he placed a kiss on her cheek then pulled out and fell on the bed.

"That was great," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she pulled the sheet up to her chest and let out a breath as she closed her eyes and relaxed. "Yes it was," she said and after a minute she turned on her side facing away from Ulysses. "Mmmm…you're a great lover," she moaned as she got comfortable and Ulysses looked at her and grinned. "So are you," he said as he reached over and ran his finger down her back. "Your touch always manages to set my body aflame then soothe me," she said as she began to drift off to sleep. Ulysses scooted up behind Xena, wrapping his arm around her waist then placed a kiss on the back of her neck. "Sleep my love," he whispered to her and Xena moaned as she pulled Ulysses' arm tighter around her, making sure her hand was holding hers as she dosed off to sleep.

It didn't take long for Ulysses to fall asleep right behind Xena and though the sleep that they had was undisturbed and restful, they couldn't believe how fast morning had come. Xena had packed the majority of her things the day before, leaving a few things in her room, taking what was closest to her heart with her. So when she woke up that morning, Ulysses was gone but she lay there in the bed thinking about what this day brought and she grinned as she realized she was more than ready for it. So she got up, took a shower then dressed. She changed the linen on her bed and straightened up her room, "good morning," Ulysses said as he walked into the room and over to Xena who grinned as Ulysses leaned in and kissed her softly.

"Where were you?" She asked as she gently tugged on his shirt and Ulysses looked into Xena's eyes as he placed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I was making sure the ship had a stall prepared for Argo and then I brought her down to the docks and helped load her onto the ship. I just came to get your things and bring them to the ship as well," he said and Xena nodded. "Are we leaving now?" She asked and Ulysses shook his head, "no, we'll leave a little after breakfast. It'll give you some time to spend with your mother and brothers a while longer, its not a lot of time…" he said and Xena stopped him at the end by placing her finger against his lips.

"It's better than nothing, thank you," she said then took his hands into hers as she pulled him towards her grinning as she did and he grinned as he looked into her eyes. "You're more than welcomed," he whispered to her as he leaned down and kissed her softly. When the kiss ended they smiled as they gave each other small, soft pecks. "That's all of my things right there," Xena said as she pointed to the wall where all of her bags and a medium sized chest lay. Ulysses walked over and picked up most of her bags, "you're going to need help with the chest," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he opened the door and Gemini can running in and over to Xena who grinned as she stooped down and rubbed the wolf.

"Oh, did you get all of those bags by Argo's stall?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded as he began walking out of the door, "yea I got them all," he said and Xena nodded then watched as Ulysses left. She then let out a breath as she looked around her room, making sure she had everything she wanted to take with her to Ithaca. But it was more than that, she thought about all the wonderful memories this room held for her and even some of the not so wonderful memories, still none the less most of her life had happened right here in this room, in this Inn.

"Xena, Ulysses said you had a chest," Toris said as he walked into his sister's room and she looked at him. "Yea, its right there," she said as she pointed to it and Toris nodded then walked over to the chest. He tried to pick it up but it was too heavy, "damn," he said and he raised his head just in time as Lyceus walked by. "Hey Ly come here," Toris called and Lyceus walked into Xena's room, "what's up?" Lyceus asked, "I need your help with this chest," Toris said and Lyceus nodded as he walked over to the chest and they each picked it up from opposite ends. "Gods Xena, what do you have in here?" Lyceus asked as he and Toris struggled with the chest out of the room, "just a couple of things," she said as she followed her brothers out of her room, closing the door behind her.

"A Couple? It feels like you have a body in here?" Toris said and he and Lyceus both groaned as they walked up the stairs with the chest. "Be careful with it and make sure you don't drop it," Xena yelled to her brothers as they walked out of the Inn and headed to the docks. "Good morning mother," Xena said as she walked over to Cyrene, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Good Morning dear, are you ready to go?" Cyrene asked as she looked at her daughter, her grown daughter who was leaving home to go and get married. "Yea but I'm going to miss you guys, I'm going to miss this place and all the things I'm used to doing," she said and Cyrene grinned at Xena.

"I'm going to miss you too," she said then looked at Xena before she hugged her tightly, "oh my little girl is all grown up." Cyrene said then pulled back and looked at Xena as she placed her hands on the sides of her face, "you're becoming a wife, one day a mother and who ever thought, one day you'd become a Queen?" Cyrene asked and Xena grinned as she looked at her mother, "I know I didn't think I'd ever achieve that much but I'm happy momma, I'm happy, Ulysses makes me happy," she said and Cyrene grinned as she took Xena's hands in her own. "And that's all that matters, as long as you're happy, I'm happy," Cyrene said.

"I'm going to miss you but I take solace in the fact that we're going to see each other in a couple of months and I know Ulysses is going to take great care of you," Cyrene said and Xena nodded. "Yea, I'm going to need your help planning the wedding," she said with a grin and Cyrene smiled. "Who knows, I might need your help with the cooking," Xena said and Cyrene chuckled at her daughter. Xena and Cyrene continued to talk while Cyrene prepared breakfast and once breakfast was done, they all sat down and ate, Xena's entire family together one last time. "Here," Corrinna said as she handed Xena a bag after breakfast was over, Xena looked at the bag then at Corrinna. "What's in here?" She asked, "herbs and things I thought you would need in case of an emergency or something," Corrinna said and Xena grinned as she hugged the healer/ mother type, tightly.

"Thank you, for everything you've done for me," Xena said as the hugged and a minute later when the hug ended. "You are my best student Xena and the daughter I've never had," Corrinna said then hugged Xena again. "You're going to come when mother does, right?" Xena asked and Corrinna grinned and nodded as she held Xena's hand, "I wouldn't miss your wedding for the world," she said and Xena grinned. They talked for a little while longer and then Xena went outside where her brothers and Ulysses were. "Aren't you guys going to hug your sister goodbye?" Xena asked and they both grinned, "this isn't goodbye, this is see you later," Lyceus said as he walked up to Xena then hugged her and she chuckled as he slightly picked her up off of the ground.

"I'm going to miss you," Lyceus said when the hug ended, "who's going to help me gang up on Toris?" He asked and Xena chuckled as she patted her brother's cheek. "I'm confident that you can do it without me," Xena said. "Or not do it at all," Toris said as he walked up to them, pushing Lyceus out the way so that he was standing in front of Xena. "You've grown into a great woman Xena and I'm happy you've found the person you're meant to spend the rest of your life with," Toris said then grinned, "I'm proud of you little sister," he said as he softly pinched her chin. Xena smiled then hugged her brother and when the hug ended Toris looked at Ulysses.

"You're going to take good care of her," Toris said and Ulysses nodded as he walked up next to Xena taking her hand in his. "I promise, no I swear to you, that I will take great care of her, all I want is for her to be happy," Ulysses said and Toris nodded as he shook Ulysses' forearm. "I'm going to hold you to that," Toris said, "as will I," Lyceus said as he shook Ulysses' hand after Toris. They hung out for twenty minutes talking and laughing, Ulysses was sitting on a long, wooden beam and Xena was leaning against him as they spent time with each other for a while longer. They eventually went back inside where Xena and Ulysses gave her mother the money that they carried on the ship, "I'll send more but this ought to help until then," Ulysses said and Cyrene looked down at the bags of gold that had been placed in the cellar amongst the food and dried herbs for security purposes.

"Ulysses this is more than enough, thank you," Cyrene said as she turned and hugged Ulysses and he grinned as he hugged her back. "This is a great man you have here Xena," Cyrene said and Xena grinned as she held Ulysses' hand while looking at him, "don't I know it," she said and Ulysses grinned. From there they headed back up to the Inn where Xena talked to a couple of people in the Inn that always treated her with kindness and without judgment.

"Xena," Ulysses called and she turned and looked at him, "its time to go," he said and she nodded then said goodbye to the person she was talking to before she walked over to Ulysses. "Goodbye Xena," a familiar voice said and Xena turned and looked at that person who happened to be Maphias. "Give me a minute," she said to Ulysses who nodded then watched as she walked up to Maphias. "Have you come to try and put last minute doubts in my head?" Xena asked and Maphias shook his head as he looked into Xena's eyes, "no, I just want you to be happy Xena," he said and she looked into his eyes and saw he meant what he said. "I am happy Maphias, Ulysses makes me happy," Xena said and he nodded as he looked at her.

"I know," he said and she looked at him then nodded and was about to walk away when Maphias gently grabbed her arm and she turned and looked at him. "I was a fool to end the relationship we had, to want to change you," he said and she looked at him. "You're fine Xena, just the way you are, you are a fantastic woman and Ulysses is lucky to have you," he said then grinned as he looked down for a minute. "The gods know I am regretting and will continue to regret loosing you but I want you to know you have changed my life, you have changed me for the better. You'll always hold a special place in my heart Xena," he said as he looked at her and she looked at him. "You were…" he said then cleared his throat as he looked down for a minute before he looked back into Xena's eyes.

"You were my first love," he said and she grinned as she placed her hand against his cheek. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you," he said and Xena grinned as she hugged him. "It's alright," she said as she ran her hand over his hair. "I hope you find the happiness that I've found," she said and he nodded then placed a kiss on Xena's cheek. When the hug ended she looked at him a minute longer before she walked over to Ulysses, grinning as she took his hand. "You take good care of her," Maphias said to Ulysses who nodded, "I will," he said. "If you ever break her heart, know that I will be there to pick up the pieces and I won't give her up without a fight."

Maphias said and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "I understand," he said and Maphias nodded then watched as they headed into the kitchen. Xena's family walked with her to the docks and on their way there a couple more people said goodbye to Xena and Ulysses. When they got to the docks they went straight over to the ship, "wow," Lyceus said as they looked over the ship. "It was really nice meeting all of you," Marguerite said and she even hugged Cyrene who smiled as she hugged her back. "Take good care of her for me please, she's not always as strong as she seems to be," Cyrene said softly to Marguerite who looked into her eyes and nodded.

"I will," she said and Cyrene nodded. "Hopefully we'll see you guys in a couple of months for a visit to Ithaca, for a wedding," Julian said and they all smiled and nodded. With his parents having said their goodbyes, Julian and Marguerite went onto the ship and Xena hugged her mother, brothers and Corrinna one last time. "You be safe," Cyrene said and Xena nodded, "and don't always let others do for you what you can do for yourself," she said and Xena nodded. Cyrene looked at her daughter then hugged her once more, "I love you," Cyrene said. "I love you too mom," she said, "and don't you always try to do everything by yourself," Xena said and Cyrene grinned and nodded. "Take care sis," Lyceus said as he hugged Xena once more, "I'm going to miss you so much Lyceus, you're my best friend," she said and he grinned as he hugged his sister tighter.

"And you are mine," he said and when the hug ended he placed a kiss on his sister's forehead. "Promise you'll write every now and then," Lyceus said and Xena nodded. "And you'll do the same," she said and Lyceus nodded. "Don't let mother do everything, especially heavy things that she thinks she can do by herself," Xena said and Lyceus nodded. Xena then hugged Toris, "I love you Xena," he said and she grinned. "I love you too," she said and when the hug ended she placed a kiss on his cheek then hugged Corrinna, one last time, her last hug before she got onto the ship. Ulysses hugged them all as well, and Virgil said his goodbyes as well, in their own way they had all become a family.

"Are you ready?" Ulysses asked Xena as he held out his hand to her, "yea," she said with a small grin as she placed her hand in his. Ulysses grinned as he stooped down and picked up Gemini although she was a lot bigger than the last time. They walked up the plank to the ship and once they were on, two sailors from the ship pulled the plank up, while the others began to untie ropes and see to the sails. Ulysses sat Gemini down on the ship and the wolf stuck close to them especially when the ship began to drift away. Xena and Ulysses walked to the railing so that she could see her family and wave goodbye to them as they drifted away.

The wind was good, so they began to drift away fast and Xena's family got smaller and smaller, "they'll be fine my love," Ulysses said as he moved behind Xena, wrapping his arms around her, then placed a kiss on her neck. Xena let out a breath as she ran her hand over Ulysses' arms while leaning back in his arms, "I know, especially with the money you gave them," Xena said then let out a breath as she closed her eyes and let the breeze blow over her. "But they're my family, I'll always worry about them," Xena said, "I know," Ulysses whispered to Xena and held her tighter as he placed a kiss on her cheek.

They stood there for a while longer then they went below deck and Xena looked around the ship and Gemini was still underneath them, still somewhat frightened by the new experience. Xena sat down on the hammock that she and Ulysses would be sharing and she looked around to see many more hammocks and their things stacked up and tied down safely off to the side. Ulysses sat down on the other side and then he laid down, "come here," Ulysses said as he gently pulled on her hand. Xena laid down on the hammock turning on her side so that her head was laying on Ulysses' chest. He wrapped his arm around her and placed a kiss on her forehead, "I know you're going to miss them but just think, you're going to a new and exciting place where you're going to meet, I'm not going to say exciting people…" Ulysses said and Xena chuckled at him.

"But they'll be new people you can beat up if they talk down to you which, sadly they probably will," Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded. Xena let out a breath and thought about her family and leaving them and what that meant on her life and as she thought about it she dosed off. When he felt her breathing even out he looked down at Xena and saw that she had dosed off, he knew that she wasn't physically tired but rather mentally since she had a lot of things on her mind. As he laid there he realized that he really couldn't blame her for thinking about her family and how they would fare out, after all, they were all she had in the beginning and even though they were in love and about to be married they would still be her family and hold a special place in her heart, a place that couldn't be filled, just as his family held a special place in his.

As Xena slept, Ulysses laid there and thought, he thought about Xena and their new life together, how things would be and as he thought about all of that, he looked down at Xena as she slept and he knew he was lucky to have her in his life and he would do anything to see her happy and in his heart he knew that everything would be alright. An hour and a half later, Xena woke up and when she realized where she was she rose up and looked at Ulysses who looked at her since he was still awake. "I didn't…did I fall asleep on you?" She asked and he grinned and nodded, "yes you did," he said. "Sorry about that," she said and Ulysses grinned as he caressed Xena's arm, "it's alright, I know you had a lot on your mind and it makes me feel good that you feel so safe and secure in my arms that you could fall asleep as easily as you did."

He said and Xena grinned as she intertwined her fingers with his, then brought his hand up to her lips and placed a kiss on it. She grinned as she sat there and looked at him, "you know sitting here with you has made me realize that I don't have anything to be sad about. Yes I'm leaving my family, my town and all that I've ever known but I'm starting a new and amazing life with you, the man of my dreams. There is absolutely no reason to be sad," she said then leaned down so that they were face to face, "no reason at all," she said as she caressed his cheek before they leaned in and kissed. The kiss started off as a soft, tasting of lips and it gradually became more.

"Ummm," Ulysses moaned as they continued to kiss, the kiss was becoming heated and they were both moaning while Ulysses ran his fingers through Xena's long, silky hair. They would have continued but they stopped when there was someone clearing their throat. They stopped kissing and looked over to the person, "excuse the interruption my lord," one of the sailors said as he walked over to his hammock to get something. Xena grinned as she leaned into Ulysses' chest, "I forgot that we don't have this whole area to ourselves," Xena said and Ulysses grinned. "I thought ships like these had cabins," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he placed one of his arms behind his head. "This is one of our smaller ships but our larger ships usually do have more than one cabin.

This ship only has one cabin and my parents have it, as King and Queen it's their right, plus they're my parents," Ulysses said and Xena nodded then looked down at Ulysses. Xena looked into his eyes, seeing so much in them but what outshined everything was his love for her. Xena looked down as she grinned to herself, "what?" Ulysses asked and Xena continued to grin as she shook her head. "Let's go up top," Xena said as she stood and grabbed Ulysses' hand as she tried to pull him up. "What for?" He asked as he sat up, "because I've never been on a ship before or seen the open sea," she said and Ulysses grinned as he stood and they went up deck with Gemini following them.

Before they went up Xena checked on Argo, "how you doing girl?" Xena asked as she rubbed Argo's neck and Argo neighed at her, "I know this is a weird experience girl, but you'll be going to a place where it's so beautiful and you can run around all day instead of being cooped up in a stable." Xena said and Argo bobbed her head up and down, Xena grinned as she leaned into Argo neck while rubbing her nose, "that's my girl," she said then placed a kiss on Argo's neck. "I'll check on you later," Xena said and the whole while Ulysses stood by the door grinning as he watched Xena with Argo and he knew buying Argo for Xena was one of the best things he could have ever done for her.

"Hey are you going to stand there and kiss the horse all day or come and kiss your future husband?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned as she patted Argo's side before she walked up to Ulysses, where she placed her arms on his shoulders and kissed him softly but passionately. "How's that?" Xena asked when the kiss ended, "mmmm…it was good but we can do better," he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him and Xena chuckled as she met Ulysses half way for the kiss. They both moaned as they continued to kiss and Xena ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair pulling him closer as their tongues tangoed with each other. After a couple of minutes the kiss was brought down to a passionate tasting of lips.

"Wow," Ulysses said when the kiss ended and Xena grinned as she wiped below Ulysses' bottom lip. "Wow indeed," Xena said then leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips before she took his hand and they went up top. Xena walked over to the railing and just stood there and as she stood there she looked out at the open sea. "This is absolutely beautiful," Xena said as she looked out at the blue water that she could see for miles and miles, the sky which was so clear and beautiful, especially with the sun shining. "This is amazing," Xena said and Ulysses grinned a she leaned on the railing as he looked out at the water. "Yes it is," he said.

Xena stood there for a couple of minutes before she closed her eyes and leaned forward as the wind blew against her. "Gods I feel so free," she said and Ulysses watched her as she smiled and he couldn't help but smile as he watched her. He watched as she tilted her head back and laughed, he then moved so that he was behind her. He took her hands and stretched her arms out and Xena laughed as she leaned back into Ulysses' arms. "Now I've…had the time of my life…though I've never felt this way before…yes I swear…it's so true…and I owe it all to you," Ulysses sung to Xena who smiled as she continued to feel like she was flying.

There were a couple of on lookers who watched them but the main one was Julian, he stood there to the entrance to the deck and watched his son with the woman he loved. He watched as Xena brought her arms back in and then they went up so that her fingers could run through Ulysses' hair as she continued to lean into him. She tilted her head back so that it was resting on his shoulders and Ulysses grinned as he leaned down and took the invitation to kiss her. Julian grinned as he watched his son before he headed back down to the cabin where Marguerite was sitting in a chair, knitting. "What are you grinning at?" Marguerite asked her husband as he walked over to the table where he sat down and picked up a scroll.

"Our son, he reminds me a lot of myself," Julian said, "how so? You mean his stubbornness reminds you of yours," Marguerite said and Julian grinned, "not just that," he said, "then what?" Marguerite asked and Julian looked at his wife and she raised her head and looked into Julian's eyes. "When he loves, he loves hard and with all of his heart," Julian said and Marguerite smiled as she looked at Julian. "When you fell in love with me you fell hard, as I did for you," she said and Julian grinned and nodded then turned in his chair and began to unroll the scroll. "It leads you to think, that their love is indeed true, that we can no longer deny what they have," Marguerite said and Julian nodded then looked at Marguerite.

"No we can't, but I'd like to see more for myself, how they are together and how they'll handle things once we get back to Ithaca. Then and only then will we be able to truly decide if this wedding, this union can be." Julian said, "whether it can be or not, our son has clearly said that he will choose Xena over us," Marguerite said and Julian shook his head. "I don't believe that," he said and Marguerite let out a breath as she went back to her knitting. "You said it yourself, Ulysses is a lot like you, his stubbornness and determination comes from you. Remember you have taught him to be the man that he is today and to hold true to what he believes and feels. He is in love with Xena and that love is strong enough to make him leave his family for her, just like so many years ago when we were to be married, your love was strong enough to give your parents the same ultimatum as we have given Ulysses."

Marguerite said and Julian looked at her, "the situation isn't the same Marguerite," Julian said and she looked at her husband. "Isn't it? I came from a lesser kingdom, a lesser family and there were those, including your parents, who thought I wasn't good enough for you to be with, let alone marry." She said, "okay its somewhat similar but…" Julian said and Marguerite stopped him. "No buts Julian, you went with your heart and against your parents and married me. Look at all we have today, if you had not done that then we would not have all we have today, we would not have our children and we would not be this happy."

She said and during all of that she stood and walked over to Julian, where she sat on the edge of the table and looked into Julian's eyes as she caressed his cheek. "Ulysses is following his heart, that is something that we really didn't have to teach him to do. Let him continue to follow his heart, if he and Xena are meant to be then they are meant to be, if not then they'll see it and I believe they'll make the right choice. But no matter what, we have to let them do this, we have to let Ulysses follow his heart and we must stand behind him in his decision," Marguerite said and Julian looked at her and nodded. "I agree with you my love but things will not be easy for them, he is about to do what hasn't been done since the beginning of Ithaca." Julian said then let out a breath as he turned and looked at the scroll, "but he is my son whom I love with all my heart and I shall stand behind him, whatever the outcome."

He said and Marguerite grinned as she leaned down and placed a kiss on Julian's forehead, "you're still that wonderful man I fell in love with so long ago. I'm so proud of you and I love you," Marguerite said and Julian grinned as he turned and looked at his wife. "I love you too," he said and they both leaned in for a brief kiss. When the kiss was over, Marguerite looked into Julian's eyes and caressed his cheek before she stood and walked back over to her chair and picked up on her knitting where she left off. Back up top, Xena and Ulysses continued to stand there looking out at the open sea as they talked and then Xena decided she wanted to learn how to do the things that the sailors did on the ships. So the sailors became very fond of her and they began teaching her bit by bit everything they knew.

Ulysses and Virgil helped around as well before they began clowning around. When it came time for lunch they went down to the mess area where they all sat at one table together and began to eat and talk. When they were finished they sat there for a couple of minutes and relaxed. Fifteen minutes later they all went up top, where Xena went back to helping out around the ship while Ulysses and Virgil sparred and Julian and Marguerite watched them for a while before they headed below. Ulysses and Virgil had been going at it for an hour and by then they had taken off their shirts since they were sweating and when they did that, Xena stopped working and stood off to the side and watched them spar but she mainly was paying attention to Ulysses and how good he looked and how well he could fight, she was pretty sure that he could give her a challenge and she could do the same.

Half an hour later when they were finally finished with Ulysses beating Virgil, they were both tired and sweaty. Xena grinned as she walked over to Ulysses until she was standing next to him, "you were great," she said as she wiped away some of the sweat on his forehead. "Thanks," he told her before he took a couple of gulps from the water skin that was near by. As he drinked, Xena ran her eyes over Ulysses' muscular arms and chest which we were covered in a light sheen of sweat. When Virgil cleared his throat Xena looked at him, "you were great too Virgil," Xena said and he grinned at her. "Thanks, Ulysses are you finished hogging the water?" Virgil asked and Ulysses nodded as he handed the skin to Virgil who took it and headed over to a barrel which held water, he splashed some water onto his face and chest then dried off with a towel before he headed below.

"Are you looking at something in particular?" Ulysses asked Xena who looked at him, "maybe, what's it to you?" She asked with a grin and Ulysses chuckled. "Don't start something we can't finish my love," he said as he began walking over to that same barrel Virgil had used. Xena let out a breath as she leaned against a barrel while Ulysses splashed some water onto his face and chest. Xena handed him a towel and once he had dried his face he looked at Xena who had on her pouting face and he couldn't help but chuckle. "How long is the trip to Ithaca?" She asked and Ulysses grinned at her, "depending on the wind, about a week," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "I guess until then I'll have to restrain myself," she said and Ulysses grinned as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"Don't feel bad, I'll have to restrain myself as well," Ulysses said and before Xena could reply to that, he leaned in and kissed her passionately. "Mmmm…I hate you," Xena said when the kiss ended and her eyes still closed as she tried to calm the raging fire in her body that Ulysses just caused by that wonderful kiss and Ulysses couldn't help himself as he chuckled at her. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself," Ulysses said, "I'm going down below to relax a little bit," he said and Xena nodded. "I'll be down in a little while," she said and Ulysses nodded and placed a kiss on Xena's cheek before he walked away. Xena let out a breath as she walked over to the railing and leaned against it, she looked out at the beautiful view and closed her eyes as she let the wind blow against her face.

Once she had the fire in her body doused and the beautiful view had calmed her, she headed below deck to the sleeping area where a couple of the men were relaxing. Virgil was in his hammock sleeping and when she walked over to their hammock she found Ulysses asleep in theirs as well. He was laying on his side facing away from her, Xena sat down as softly as she could on the hammock as not to wake Ulysses. She took off her shoes and laid down, the hammock that they shared was extra large, made to hold two people. So even though Ulysses was laying on his side, Xena still had room to lay on her back which she did. She lay there for a couple of minutes and then looked at Ulysses who groaned just before he turned onto his other side and sensing Xena's presence, he moved closer to Xena until his head was pillowed on her breast and his arm was wrapped protectively and possessively around her, holding her tight.

Xena grinned as she ran her fingers through his hair and her other hand softly caressed his arm. She laid there for a while thinking about a couple of things before she began to dose off. They didn't wake until an hour before dinner and still they laid there and continued to relax. When dinner time came they got up and went to the mess area where they ate and by the time they were finished dinner, they bid Ulysses' parents a good night then headed up top. The sun was just setting so it was a beautiful sight and Xena walked over to the railing like she usually did and she just stood there and watched the sun set. Ulysses stood at the entrance to the door and looked at Xena _'gods she is so beautiful'_ he thought to himself.

After a while of watching her, he walked up to her and took his usual position behind her, wrapping his arms around her. "Beautiful isn't it?" Ulysses asked and Xena nodded as she leaned back into his arms, "I've never seen a sun set like this one before. I've always heard bards talk about beautiful sun sets and sun rises that stir emotions deep within you but I never really believed them until now." Xena said and they continued to stand there until the sun had completely set and when it was pitch black outside, the only light was the half moon and lanterns among the ship, Xena and Ulysses laid down on the ship in a corner out of everyone's way and they laid there and looked up at the millions of stars that were shinning so brightly in the night sky.

After a while they began to play a game of connecting the stars to see different things, "those group of stars, look like a little dipper," Xena said as she pointed to them. "I don't see it," Ulysses said and Xena grinned, "see how those stars there, connect to that line of stars there?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded as he tilted his head all kinds of ways, "y-e-a," he said drawing the word out as he began to see some of what she saw. "But to me it looks like a pot, one of the small pots you boil water in for tea," he said and Xena chuckled. "Okay, moving on," she said and they continued to look at the stars. "Okay the group of stars over there looks like a bear," Ulysses said. "A bear? Ulysses…what?" Xena asked as she tried to see what he saw but she was having a little difficulty.

Ulysses chuckled as he scooted closer to Xena and began to point out the stars that made him see a bear. "OH!" Xena said when she saw the bear, "you see it now?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned and nodded as she continued to look up at the stars. "Okay that group of stars looks like a big dipper," Xena said and Ulysses chuckled at her, "what's with you and the dippers?" He asked and Xena hunched her shoulders, "that's what I see," she said and Ulysses nodded but his attention wasn't on the stars any longer, they were on Xena and he looked into her eyes as she continued to look up at the stars and it amazed him how the stars reflected in her eyes as if they were almost in her eyes.

"I don't know, maybe I have a thing for dippers," Xena said, "are you listening to me?" Xena asked when she heard silence, she turned and looked at Ulysses, her blue eyes meeting his brown eyes. "Yes I was listening to you, you can't help what you see, it's understandable. Just as I can't help but see stars when I look into your eyes," he said and Xena grinned at Ulysses as she caressed his cheek. "Sweetheart that's just the stars reflection," Xena said and Ulysses shook his head as he rose up on his elbow and looked down into Xena's eyes. "Even now, with me blocking your view, I still see those stars shinning just as brightly in your eyes," he said as he looked into Xena's eyes. "I can't help what I see," he said and by then he had brought his hand up to Xena's cheek as he leaned down preparing to kiss her and Xena brought her hand to his arm.

"I see the entire universe in your eyes," Ulysses whispered to Xena and she moaned, not just from the kiss but from what he had just told her. _'I see the entire Universe in your eyes, no one has ever told me anything so beautiful, no one, no man has even come close to it. Gods I'm so in love with this man,'_ Xena thought to herself and the kiss ended even though she didn't want it to. "You are my world," he whispered to her and Xena moaned as she pulled him down for another kiss, at that moment she wanted to make love to him so bad but she had to remember where they were and therefore had to restrain herself. A couple of minutes later when the kiss ended, they were both breathless, "I love you, in the name of Athena and all the other gods, I love you," Xena said to Ulysses as they looked into each other's eyes.

After she said that, she rose up some and kissed him softly but passionately. They laid there in each other's arms for a while longer before they headed below deck to the sleeping quarters. Most of the men were below, either relaxing and talking amongst themselves or asleep from the hard days work. Xena and Ulysses got in their hammock, Xena laid in Ulysses' arms as usual and he threw a small blanket over her to keep her warm because he knew that being at sea could sometimes be cold. It wasn't long before they were asleep and Xena found it surprising that she slept so comfortably and peacefully in the hammock and on the ship.

When morning came they were both well rested and Xena got up and did a little exercising and then she and Ulysses did some sparring. There were onlookers who watched as Xena fought and fought well and again the main onlooker was Julian and he was surprised to see this woman, that his son was so in love with, was giving him a run for his money, and Julian was proud to admit that his son was one of the best fighters he had ever seen, so for Xena to be this good, that she was actually giving Ulysses a challenge, he was amazed. Almost two hours later, Xena kicked Ulysses hard in his chest and he flew a few feet and landed hard flat on his back. He grinned as he looked up at Xena who stood over him as she held out her hand to him, "are you alright?" Xena asked as Ulysses took her hand and she helped him stand.

"Yea I'm alright," Ulysses said then let out a breath as he stretched, "I didn't mean to kick you so hard," she said and Ulysses grinned as he shook his head. "Its fine, I'm fine," he said then pulled Xena to him by her hand. "You're amazing," Ulysses said while smiling and Xena grinned at him, "why thank you," Xena said then moaned as Ulysses surprised her when he kissed her. Xena took in a breath of air through her nose and when the kiss ended she looked at Ulysses as she caressed his cheek, that action being as natural to her as breathing. "What was that for?" Xena asked and Ulysses shook his head, "can't I just kiss you if I want?" Ulysses asked, "of course but I sense there was a reason behind it," Xena said and Ulysses grinned.

"I'm amazed by you, that's all. Amazed by your beauty, your strength, everything about you amazes me," Ulysses said and Xena grinned then looked down as she blushed a little. "Oh," she said and Ulysses chuckled, "you're so cute when you're innocent." Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "I'm not as innocent as you may think," Xena said and Ulysses grinned. "Oh I know that all too well," he said and Xena grinned as she pushed Ulysses on his chest. "I'm gonna get cleaned up and then get some breakfast, you want to join me?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned at her as he began walking with her, "for what part?" He asked and Xena turned and shook her finger at him as she grinned, "you said it yourself, don't start something we can't finish," she said then laughed at his crest fallen expression before she turned and headed below deck.

Ulysses let out a breath as he shook his head, "she's really good," Julian said and Ulysses looked up at his father. "She's not good, she's great," Ulysses said and Julian nodded. "She would have to be to beat you and I know how good you are," he said and Ulysses chuckled. "Yea but then I didn't nor do I now, have a goddess whose trained in warfare training me," Ulysses said as he walked over to the water barrel and splashed some water onto his face then dried it. "Have you see the goddess?" Julian asked and Ulysses shook his head, "no but I've seen Aphrodite, she gave us these," Ulysses said as his hand went to the necklace with his half of stone on it.

"You've seen Aphrodite?" Julian asked and Ulysses nodded, "is she…" he was about to ask and Ulysses nodded. "Yes, she's as beautiful as they say," Ulysses said and Julian nodded. "So what did Aphrodite talk to you guys about? Were you having a little trouble in the bedroom department? You know if you are I can give you a couple of pointers, things that drive your mother wild," Julian said and Ulysses frowned at his father. "First of all, eeewww…dad I don't want to here about you and mom in that way," Ulysses said and Julian hunched his shoulders. "Secondly, no we weren't, nor are we having problems in the bedroom department, I know how to please the woman I love and she definitely knows how to please me," Ulysses said and Julian nodded.

"That's good, I hate to think that I have a son who doesn't know how to please his woman, I should hope you take after me in that area," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father as he shook his head. "Anyway…" Ulysses said as he let out a breath, "so what did she come to see you about?" Julian asked since he was really curious, "she came to confirm what Xena and I knew already in our hearts," Ulysses said. "And that was?" Julian asked, "that Xena and I were meant to be together, we're two halves of a whole, that's what these symbolize," Ulysses said referring to his necklace and Julian looked at his son and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "Yea, we were somewhat stunned as well but at least you know now that there was a reason why I gave you the ultimatum that I did and why I meant what I said. I won't live without her, I can't," Ulysses said as he looked into his father's eyes and when Julian looked into his son's eyes and saw that he really meant that, he nodded then watched as Ulysses walked away.

Julian now knew that no matter what happened in Ithaca, his son would stick with Xena because she was his other half. Julian knew it was rare to have found something that great and he wouldn't be the cause of breaking it up and now he would definitely make sure he stood behind his son in whatever decision he would make. Xena took her wash off, then put on a dress before she headed to the mess cabin where Ulysses was waiting for her for breakfast. As usual they talked while they ate and when they were done they relaxed for a while down below. Ulysses sat in a chair and Xena laid in their hammock as they talked but Ulysses didn't stay in the chair for long.

Xena smiled at him as he got into the hammock and before they knew it they were kissing. When sailors walked in they stopped kissing and caressing but as soon as they left they went right back to it. "I thought they would never leave," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she pulled him to her and they began kissing once again. "We should uh…we should slow down," Xena said as she felt Ulysses caress her stomach. "Mmm…I don't want to," he moaned as he sucked on her neck beginning to kiss his way down. "I don't want you to either," Xena said then bit down on her lower lip as she moaned. She then pulled him up by his hair and kissed him deeply and passionately.

"The Gods know I want you," Xena said in a breathless voice when the kiss ended as she looked into Ulysses' eyes while caressing his cheek. "Then let me have you," Ulysses said then leaned down and was about to kiss Xena but she pulled back and he looked at her. "Not here, we have no privacy," Xena said and Ulysses looked into her eyes then let out a breath. "You're right, I wasn't thinking for a minute," he said as he fell back on the hammock and Xena let out a breath as she nodded. "Its understandable," she said and after a minute they both laughed, "what do you say we go up top and get some air," Ulysses said and Xena grinned. "I'd like that," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he stood then helped Xena up.

She straightened up her dress before they headed up top where they just leaned on the railing of the ship while they talked and clowned around. "You're beautiful you know that," Ulysses said as he placed a lock of hair behind her ear and Xena grinned at him as she played with the fingers of his free hand. "I had a small clue but I love it when you tell me," she said and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her and then he began to fall into her beautiful blue eyes. "Come here," he told as he gently pulled on her dress and Xena grinned as she moved closer to Ulysses until she was in his arms. "You are so beautiful and I love you so much," Ulysses whispered to Xena now that he had his hand on her cheek and was looking deeply into her eyes.

Xena grinned as she looked into Ulysses' eyes while she took his arm and wrapped it around her waist. "Tell me again," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her, "what, you're beautiful?" He asked and Xena shook her head, "no the last part," she said and Ulysses smiled. "I love you," he said and Xena smiled as she nodded while she leaned in, "I love it when you tell me that," she whispered to him just before they softly kissed. "Just in case you didn't know, I love you too," Xena said and Ulysses grinned at her, "mmmm…I had a clue," he said and Xena smiled as she pushed him and he laughed at her. "What would you do for me?" Xena asked, "anything," Ulysses replied without hesitation and Xena liked that. "Would you steal for me?" She asked, "in a heartbeat," Ulysses replied.

"Would you lie for me?" She asked while she continued to look into his eyes, "without thought," he replied and Xena looked down for a moment before she moved closer to him and ran her finger over his chest not covered by his shirt. "Would you kill for me?" She asked while looking into his eyes and he looked into hers as he answered her, "I would kill for you, I would die for you," he whispered to her as he leaned in and Xena grinned as she kissed him softly. "If you so desired, I would give you the world, the moon and the stars," Ulysses whispered to Xena who smiled before they kissed passionately. Julian and Marguerite had been relaxing far back on the ship and Julian watched his son with Xena and grinned to himself because he remembered that's how he used to be with Marguerite.

"Mmmm," Xena moaned as she pushed into Ulysses, her hand holding his shirt as they continued to kiss. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes and Xena grinned as she leaned in and kissed Ulysses again and he moaned as he pulled her closer to him. "Mmmm…I have an idea," Ulysses said when the kiss ended, "about what?" Xena asked as she brushed her lips against Ulysses', "I don't know about you…" Ulysses said and he swallowed hard while running his fingers through Xena's hair. "But there's this fire burning inside of me and you're the only one who can put it out," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she bit down on her lower lip. "So what do you suggest? I want to make love in the privacy of a room where I can moan and cry your name and you can do the same," Xena said and Ulysses swallowed hard as he nodded.

'_Gods give me strength,'_ he thought to himself as he looked at the gorgeous woman that he loved so much in front of him. "My parents are over there, which means their cabin is empty and I suggest we steal it while we can," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him. "I love it when you're bad," she said and Ulysses shook his head before he leaned in and kissed Xena passionately. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes, "you go first and I'll be along in a couple of minutes," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "Don't keep me waiting," she said and Ulysses shook his head at Xena as she began to walk away, "never," he said and she smiled before she turned and casually walked away. Ulysses turned around and looked out at the water as he let out a breath, trying to calm his nerves and dampen the fire a little bit before he burned up.

A couple of minutes later he began to head downstairs, "hey, Xena and I are going to get something to eat, you guys want to join us?" Ulysses asked knowing his parents would turn him down. "Nah, we're alright son," Julian said and Ulysses nodded and continued his way down stairs. As soon as he was down stairs he headed straight to his parents cabin and he walked in closing the door and locking it behind him. Xena was in the cabin and she had been looking around when Ulysses walked in, she spun around and looked at Ulysses as he locked the door. She grinned as he turned around and looked at her, "what shall we do now that we've stolen your parent's cabin?" Xena asked as she began to walk up to Ulysses who was walking towards her.

"Whatever comes to mind," Ulysses said and by then he was standing in front of Xena. "What shall we do," Xena said as she ran her hands over Ulysses' chest while looking into his eyes. "I want to make love to you," he said in a slightly breathless voice and before Xena could reply he leaned in and kissed her passionately. "Mmmm," Xena moaned as she stepped closer to Ulysses, wrapping her arms around his shoulder as their kiss deepened. They eventually had to break free for air but it was just for a couple of seconds before they went back to kissing. As they kissed Xena began to unbutton Ulysses' shirt and she wasted no time doing that, nor did she waste time pushing the shirt off of his shoulders and he let it fall to the floor. "Mmmm," Ulysses moaned as he ended the kiss and began kissing and sucking on Xena's neck.

"Ummm…ssss," Xena moaned as Ulysses hit one of her most sensitive spots, it's probably why he went there because he knew how sensitive she was to that. Xena had her eyes closed and she was moaning but her hands were also busy undoing his belt and Ulysses moaned when he heard his belt fall to the floor and she began working on his pants. Ulysses sucked on Xena's neck for a while longer before he kissed her passionately once more and as they kissed he picked her up and Xena moaned as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder while he carried her over to the bed. He placed her softly on the bed getting in behind her, his body over hers, his leg between hers and they looked into each other's eyes before Ulysses leaned down and kissed Xena passionately. They laid there and kissed each other, passionately tasting one another's lips as they caressed each other and in the midst of everything they got Xena's dress off and when they really got down to the hot and heavy stuff, her underwear was gone as was Ulysses' pants.

Ulysses spent his time, kissing, sucking and nipping Xena's entire body, leaving no spot untouched and exploring every spot to the fullest. When he came to her breasts, since he loved the beautiful globes so much, he sucked on her nipples to his heart's content. "Ummm," Xena moaned as he chewed softly on her nipple before he sucked hard on it again. He kissed and sucked on the flesh of her breasts and when he was finally finished, he began kissing, sucking and nipping his way down her body until his head was firmly nestled between her thighs and he was tasting her deliciousness. "Unnngh…unnnn," Xena moaned as she bit down on her lower lip, while running her fingers through Ulysses' hair. "Ummm," he moaned as he tasted every last inch of her, he ran his tongue all over, invoking such wonderful sensations in Xena.

"Ssss…unnnghhh," Xena moaned as her body jerked in pleasure while her heels dug into the bed and her head began going from side to side. Ulysses took his time and sucked all over before he licked every inch of her, tasting every last drop of her essence. He opened her legs wider and sucked on her labia and then her lips. "Unnngh…ssss…Unnnnghhhh," Xena began to cry out as her hands gripped the sheets on the bed and her body began to jerk in pleasure and then the feeling got so good she started backing away from him. Ulysses licked his lips as he grabbed her thighs and pulled her back down to his hungry mouth and continued to devour her. "Ulysses…unnnggghhh," Xena moaned as she placed her hands on his shoulders and he moaned as he continued to pleasure her. "Unnnghhh…gods stop," Xena cried out as she slammed her head back into the pillow. "Stop…unnn…st…unnnngh," she moaned loudly as she gripped at his shoulders and her legs began shaking as he sucked on her clit.

When Ulysses was finally finished he kissed and sucked on her thighs and legs before kissing his way back up and settling himself between Xena's legs as he kissed her passionately. "It felt so good," Xena said to Ulysses when the kiss ended and he grinned as he caressed her hair, "I know, that's why I didn't stop when you asked me to," he said before he kissed her once again and as they kissed she caressed his back and arms pulling him down closer onto her, loving his body weight when they made love. "Take me baby and don't stop, don't every stop," Xena whispered to Ulysses between kisses and he moaned as he deepened the kiss and Xena gave him a run for his money like she often did.

Ten minutes later, they continued to passionately kiss and caress each other before Ulysses made the last critical move. He didn't need the use of his hand to put himself where he wanted to be. He knew where he wanted to be, his heart, mind, body and soul knew where he wanted to be and that was inside of Xena, creating everlasting pleasure and to feel that special connection that they felt when they made passionate love. So as they continued to kiss he eased himself into Xena and they both moaned as he began to stretch her and he moaned at the feeling of being inside of her, moaning at how hot, wet and silky she was. Neither of them wasted time with getting a rhythm started. "You feel so good," Ulysses moaned when the kiss momentarily broke, "Unnnngh," he moaned as he slightly tilted his head back and Xena moaned as she leaned forward and kissed and sucked on his neck moving down to his chest before they started kissing again.

Back up top it had been forty-five minutes since Ulysses and Xena had headed downstairs and Julian and Marguerite continued lounging around up deck. "You know what, I am kind of hungry," Marguerite said and Julian nodded. "Yea, me too, let's see if they're still there and we can join them," Julian said as he stood and reached his hand down to Marguerite, helping her up. "I've just got to get something from the room," she said as they headed downstairs and Julian nodded. "I'll meet you in the mess area," he said and Marguerite nodded as she walked to the cabin. She tried to open the door but it was locked so she figured Julian had locked the door, so she went to the mess area and walked over to where Julian had sat down. "Did you get whatever it is you needed?" He asked and she shook her head, "no, you locked the door," she said. "No I didn't," he said as he chewed on a grape, "well the door is locked," she said and Julian thought about that as he stood and walked to the cabin with Marguerite following him.

He tried the door to find that it was locked also, "Darren," Julian said to a sailor passing by. "Yes my lord?" He answered as he stopped and looked at Julian, "did you happen to see if someone locked this door?" He asked, "no my lord, there is only one key to the cabin and you have it," the sailor said. "The key is in the cabin because I didn't lock the door, someone else did," Julian said. "If what you're saying is true about there only being one key then that means the door was locked from the inside," Julian said and Darren looked at him, "well that would explain why I saw the prince go in there earlier, maybe he's still in there and that's why the door is locked," Darren said and Julian nodded. "Thank you," he said and the sailor bowed his head in respect before he turned and left.

"Ulysses wasn't in the mess area?" Marguerite asked and Julian shook his head, "no and neither was Xena," he said. "Do you think they could be in our cabin?" Marguerite asked and Julian hunched his shoulders, "I'm never sure with Ulysses, the boy is just strange sometimes," Julian said about his son and Marguerite grinned. "Well he gets it from you," she said and he grinned at his wife, "come on and lets see if they're in there," Julian said as they walked back towards the door to the cabin. "Ulysses are you in there?" Julian shouted to the door after he knocked but he got no answer so he knocked again. "Maybe they're not in there," Marguerite suggested and Julian shook his head before he put his ear to the door and listened for any sounds. "Can you hear anything?" Marguerite asked but Julian shushed her so that he could listen more closely and as he listened he did hear some sounds and when he recognized what they were, he pulled back and grinned.

"What?" Marguerite asked, "they're in there," he said and she looked at him. "What did you hear?" She asked him and Julian continued to grin, "the sounds of my son enjoying being a man," he said and his wife looked at him. "You mean they're…?" She asked and Julian grinned as he nodded, "in our bed?" She asked and he nodded again, "in our cabin?" She asked once more and Julian continued to grin as he nodded. "Well I don't think it's our cabin anymore," he said and Marguerite shook her head. "Something else he got from you," she said as she began heading to the mess area. "What?" He asked, "taking things that don't belong to you," she said and Julian grinned as he grabbed her arm and spun her around, "I only take what is rightfully mine," he said and Marguerite grinned as she leaned in and kissed him softly. "And am I yours?" She asked and Julian grinned as he looked into his wife's eyes, "always and forever," he said and Marguerite nodded as they held hands and continued their way to the mess area where they grabbed a snack.

Back in the cabin, Xena and Ulysses continued to make hot passionate love. "Unnngh…don't stop," Xena moaned between kisses as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair. Ulysses grinned as he leaned in and kissed Xena passionately, moaning as her fingers dug into his back, while her legs wrapped around his, little did he know that she was preparing him for a change of positions. When she was ready she flipped him onto his back and Ulysses smiled as Xena hovered over him and then he moaned as she kissed him passionately. "Ummmm," Ulysses moaned as he ran his hands over Xena's body and he didn't know what to do when she began to ride him. All he could do was kiss her passionately and pull her closer to him, when the kiss ended he began kissing, sucking and nipping on whatever part of her body he could reach.

"Aahhh…unnnnghhh…yes," Xena moaned as Ulysses sucked on her nipple while she rode him. Her hands gripped the sheets as she tilted her head back and rode him hard and fast. She threw her hair back from her face as she brought her hand up and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer, telling him to suck more and harder. "Unnnghh…unnn," Ulysses moaned as he ran his hands over Xena's back while switching from nipple to nipple, doing as she asked. He ran his hand all the way up to the back of her neck where he massaged the muscles there before he pulled her down for a very passionate and heated kiss. "Ummm," Ulysses moaned as his head was pushed back into the pillow from the force of Xena's passionate kiss and he inhaled sharply through his nose as her tongue invaded his mouth, exploring it to the fullest, while she continued to move her hips and he continued to move his against hers, never wanting the pleasure to end.

Making love to a woman or just having plain old sex, never felt as good to Ulysses as it did when he and Xena made love and it was one of the many things that convinced him that he and she were meant to be together forever. He knew Xena was the woman he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with, he had no doubts what so ever, that was why he asked her to marry him. As they continued to kiss, Ulysses ran his fingers through Xena's long, silky hair before he turned the tables on her and flipped her back onto her back. She smiled at him as she brought her hands down and he smiled at her as he leaned down and kissed her. "Mmmm…unnnngh," Xena moaned as Ulysses sped up a little, while going deeper and it made Xena feel like she was reaching places he had never touch. Whatever he was doing she didn't want him to stop and she made that clear as she deepened the kiss while running her hands then nails over his back.

She rubbed her legs against his and Ulysses moaned as he ran his hand from her foot, up her calf, where he massaged her muscles there before he moved up to her thigh. Their kisses only broke long enough for them to pull in air before they went back to kissing, both of them moaning as Ulysses thrusting kept up. As their releases began to build up, their kissing ended momentarily, and they looked into each other's eyes as Xena ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair, grabbing it as she pulled him down for another kiss. As they got closer and closer to their releases, they stayed at their current pace and continued to kiss and caress each other. Their moans and cries filled the room and when they were right on the edge, they stopped kissing and just looked into each other's eyes and Ulysses fell into Xena's deep, blue sea eyes while he caressed her hair.

Xena fell over first and after a couple of seconds Ulysses was right behind her, "Un…unnnnghhh….Aahhhhh…un," he moaned as he released his seed into her and he continued to thrust into her, until the last of their tremors had left them. "Ummm," Xena moaned as she caressed Ulysses' back, "uhhh," he moaned as one last surprising tremor went through his body. Xena grinned as she caressed his cheek as she leaned up and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended, they grinned at each other, "you alright?" Xena asked as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair, "yea," he said then leaned down and kissed Xena softly but passionately and when the kiss ended, he placed a kiss on her cheek before he pulled out of her and pulled the sheet before he fell back on the bed letting out a breath. Xena sat up some before she ran her hand over Ulysses' sweaty chest then leaned down and kissed his chest until she was right under his neck.

She placed her hand on his cheek as she raised her head and looked into his eyes, "so did I put that fire out?" She asked with a grin and Ulysses smiled at her, "no, but you've dampened it considerably," he said and they both smiled as they met each other half way for a very passionate kiss. When the kiss ended they were slightly breathless as they looked into each other's eyes and Xena ran her finger over Ulysses' chin, "I really wanted to put that fire out," she said and Ulysses smiled as he licked his lips. "As long as I have your love this fire will never go out, nor do it want it to," he said as he caressed Xena's back and she grinned with happiness at those words and all she could do was pull the sheet up to her chest as she laid down on her side and ran her fingers over Ulysses' chest.

"I do believe your parents were knocking on the door earlier," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her. "Really? I didn't hear a thing, I was too engrossed in other wonderful activities," he said as he reached over and ran his fingers down Xena's chest and she grinned. "Don't start something you can't finish," Xena said as she took Ulysses' fingers and kissed them and he looked at her as she did so. "Who says I can't finish what I want to start?" He asked and Xena chuckled as she looked into his eyes while running her fingers through his hair, "you are so unlike any other man I've known," she said. "I'll take that as a compliment," he said and Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes, "you should, especially since I meant it as one," she said and Ulysses nodded as he placed his arm behind his head and let out a breath.

Xena let out a breath as she turned onto her stomach, making sure her body was covered to a certain degree. "You know, since we're in the beginning of winter, I was thinking we could have the wedding in the spring. If Ithaca is as beautiful as you say it is, I'll want to have an outside wedding," Xena said and Ulysses turned his head and looked at her. "That sounds pretty good to me," he said then turned on his side moving up close to Xena. "A beautiful wedding in the spring as well as a beautiful honeymoon," he said as she ran his hand over Xena's uncovered back and she grinned at him. "What would we do for our honeymoon?" She asked, "anything you want," he said before he leaned down and kissed her back. "I personally want to go somewhere beautiful, maybe sail a week at sea where we can make love day and night," he said and Xena chuckled as she leaned her head forward so that Ulysses could kiss the back of her neck.

"Is that all you think about?" Xena asked, then let out a breath when Ulysses positioned his body over hers while sucking on what Xena liked to think of as her hot spot. "It's hard not to, especially when I have such a beautiful, sexy wife to be in my arms," he said and Xena chuckled as she turned her head to the side so that they could share a passionate kiss. When the kiss ended Ulysses held his body up on his forearms while he used his other hand and ran it over Xena's back, "you have such soft skin," he said, then leaned down and began kissing her back all over. He began making his way down and stopped when he got to her butt and he only stopped because the sheet was in his way. Once he got that obstacle out of the way, he kissed and sucked on her butt, making his way down the back of her thighs then legs.

When he got to her feet he massaged them and Xena moaned at the wonderful feeling. "Mmmm….your hands are so amazing," Xena moaned and Ulysses grinned as he moved up and massaged her back and shoulders for a little bit before he just caressed her. After a couple of minutes Xena turned over and looked up at Ulysses and he grinned as he leaned down and kissed her softly. "Can I make love to you again my love?" He asked, "always," Xena replied as she looked into his eyes while caressing his cheek. Ulysses moaned softly as he leaned down and kissed her and they slowly began to explore each other's bodies and from there they made love once more. An hour after their second round of love making they had exhausted themselves so they were both asleep on their sides, Ulysses spooning Xena and he of course was holding her tightly.

They had been asleep for an hour when there was a knock at the door. Xena moaned and moved a little but she didn't wake up. A minute later there was another knock and Ulysses let out a breath as he eased himself out of bed and looked around the room for his pants. As he put on his pants he looked at Xena who moaned as she rolled onto her other side reaching out for Ulysses but not finding him, only the warm sheets from where he was. Ulysses grinned to himself as he fastened his pants then walked over to the door, unlocking it and opening it slightly. "Mother, I…uh," he said as he looked at his mother, "your father and I have decided to let you guys keep the cabin, it's only a couple more days to home, I believe we can make it in the hammocks until then. So do you mind if I come into my cabin and get some of our things?"

She asked, "uh…" he said as he looked at her then turned and looked at Xena who was still sleeping soundly. "Sure, as long as you keep it down, Xena is sleeping," he said and Marguerite nodded as she walked into the room. When she walked into the room she looked at Xena who was asleep on the bed, the sheet she was wrapped in covering her most important parts and the bed was in a disarray. Marguerite went about the room and gathered a couple of her things as well as some of Julian's then placed them in one of their bags. "Well, that's all we'll need for right now," Marguerite said and Ulysses nodded, "thank you for letting us keep the cabin until we get home," he said and Marguerite grinned at her son as she opened the door. "Your father and I remember how it was when we first fell in love, so we understand the need to physically be with one another," she said and Ulysses grinned as he placed a kiss on his mother's cheek before she left the cabin and he closed the door behind her, locking it once more.

He headed back to the bed, taking his pants off on the way there and then he got back into bed. Since Xena was in his spot, he raised her up some so that he could get into the bed and he laid her down on his chest. "Mmmm…I'm happy that your parents let us keep the cabin, now we don't have to sneak off and steal it," Xena said and Ulysses grinned because he knew she hadn't been sleep since he got out of bed. "Yea but sneaking around was half the fun," he said and Xena chuckled at Ulysses as she moved closer to him and let out a breath as she began to dose back off. Ulysses lay awake for a couple of minutes before he fell back to sleep as well. The days passed by quickly and before anyone knew it, they were a day away from Ithaca and it seemed the day of their previous love making had sated them enough until they were a day away from Ithaca and that's when they spent half of the day locked up in the cabin making hot, passionate love.

Their previous days consisted of nothing but relaxing; Ulysses clowned around with Virgil while Xena helped out around the ship, winning the sailors over with her charming personality and her beauty. She and Ulysses sometimes sparred on the deck and other times they talked with Ulysses' parents, everyone getting to know each other better and better. It was night on their last day at sea and in the cabin, Ulysses and Xena had just gotten finished making love and now they lay in each other's arms basking in the after glow of their love making. Ulysses lay on his back propped up by some pillows and Xena lay with her back against his chest and as they lay there she ran her fingers over his arm. "I'm not sure I'm ready for tomorrow," Xena said, "why?" Ulysses asked as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I don't know," she said and they laid there in silence for a minute before Xena spoke again.

"I guess I just don't want to let you down, I want to be accepted by your people and I know that it's probably highly unlikely," she said and Ulysses let out a breath. "Xena, that's not something you have to worry about. I don't care if the others don't accept you, I don't think they accept me, they respect me because I'm prince but I don't think I'm really accepted by some. The only people that matter to me, whether or not they accept you would be my parents, my sister and Virgil. The most important people in my life and you've already won three of them over so you have nothing to worry about," Ulysses said as he placed a kiss on Xena's temple. "Do you think your sister will accept and like me?" Xena asked as she played with Ulysses' fingers, "I'm not all together sure, Camilla is best friends with Victoria and the fact that I'm choosing you over Victoria and hurting Victoria in the process, she might be a little hesitant at first but I think eventually you'll win her over."

He said and Xena nodded, "but I think you'll like her, she's feisty like you," he said with a grin and Xena grinned as well. "Everything will be fine my love and I need you to understand and believe that there is nothing that will happen or anything that someone can say that'll make my love for you die and we separate. I love you Xena and that will never change, no matter what happens I will always choose you, have no doubt about that my love." Ulysses said and Xena turned on her stomach and looked into Ulysses' eyes, "I will choose you, I will protect you from words and actions because I mean for us to be married, to be together forever and no one will stop that from happening, I'll be damned." He said and Xena chuckled as she leaned down and kissed him softly, "thank you, that really helped," she said and Ulysses nodded as he caressed her cheek as she leaned into his touch, rubbing her face against his hand. "I'm not usually this way, I've grown to not give a damn about what people think about me but this is different.

You mean a lot to me and I know your people mean a lot to you, so I want them to accept me so that everything will be alright," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "I know but life isn't that perfect, take it from me, don't give a damn about what people think of you or what they might say. Just think of yourself as being back in Amphipolis and the people are the same because they are, the only difference is money and power. However in this case you're marrying a prince so I have more money than them and I definitely have more power than them. Their opinion means nothing to me, what they may say or do can't and won't stop us from getting married. Their words can't do anything to you unless you let them, so treat them like any other person who gets on your nerves or thinks that you're below them. I'm telling you Xena, do that because it's the only way these people will learn to respect you and perhaps one day some of them will accept you for who you are.

But I'm telling you, I wouldn't worry too much about it," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she laid her head down on his chest. "You're right," she said as she laid there and thought about what Ulysses was saying and she realized he was right. She didn't change herself for Amphipolis, so she wouldn't change herself for Ithaca. Ulysses loved her the way she was and that was all that mattered, she didn't and wouldn't give a damn about what the others thought. Now that she had that settled she could go to sleep, since there was nothing major on her mind. When morning came, Xena woke to a lot of hustle and bustle going on around the ship, since they were getting closer and closer to Ithaca. They all ate breakfast together and the captain told them that they would reach Ithaca by dinner time, so a message was sent to Ithaca by carrier pigeon to prepare for a special dinner.

Ulysses and Xena had no idea about the dinner but they were going to find out at lunch. Lunch was a calm, yet exciting affair as Marguerite talked to Xena about the many things and goings on in Ithaca. "You'll meet a lot of the noblemen at the dinner but don't let them intimidate you, most of them are all full of themselves," Marguerite said. "Wait, what dinner?" Xena asked, "your mother and I thought it was appropriate to send a message ahead to Ithaca to tell them to prepare for a special dinner. We thought it would be a good time for everyone to meet Xena," Julian said and Ulysses looked at his father and just hunched his shoulders. "Whatever," he said, "no," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her. "No, not whatever?" He asked and Xena let out a breath, "how can you say whatever to a dinner that we knew nothing about?

I mean this is a total surprise to me, I'm not prepared for a formal dinner." Xena said and Ulysses was about to say something when his mother spoke before he did. "Xena it won't be that formal and you'll do just fine," Marguerite said and Xena let out a breath as she shook her head then ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "How long before we reach Ithaca?" Xena asked, "about five to six hours. Why?" Ulysses asked and Xena just stood, "because I need to get ready and find something to wear so that I don't look like a complete idiot when we get there," Xena said as she stood then left the mess area, heading to the cabin. "Mother," Ulysses said as he looked at his mother, "what?" She asked, "I know this was your idea," Ulysses said and Marguerite let out a breath. "Ulysses, your father and I thought it would be nice if we had this dinner as sort of a celebration of your engagement."

She said and Ulysses nodded, "I know, I just wish you guys would have talked to me about it first. Xena is really nervous about meeting everyone in Ithaca and being accepted. Its important to her because they are my people and you just springing this on her like this hasn't really helped matters much." Ulysses said then let out a breath as he stood, "I know you guys were only trying to help but Xena is unprepared for something like this." He said then walked away, heading to the cabin and when he walked in he walked in on Xena throwing things around left and right. "What are you doing?" Ulysses asked as he closed the door behind him, "I'm trying to find something suitable to wear," Xena said as she went through her trunk, letting out frustrating breaths when she couldn't find anything to wear. She stood and kicked the chest as she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, "I can't believe your parents did this to me," she said then went to another one of her bags and searched through it.

"Xena, this wasn't done to hurt you," Ulysses said and Xena shook her head. "No, it was done to humiliate me. I'm not ready for a dinner like this, I don't have a nice dress to wear, my hair isn't done and the only nice piece of jewelry that I have is the necklace you bought me and my engagement ring." Xena said and Ulysses walked over to her, grabbing her hand and turning her around so that he was looking into her eyes. "Xena, we talked about this already, it doesn't matter how they see you." Ulysses said, "but it matters how you see me. It matters that I at least feel like I can fit it and I can't feel that way when I'm dressed as a peasant while you, your family, Virgil and everyone else is dressed like royalty and…" Xena said then let out a breath as she flopped down on the bed. "I'm beginning to wonder if I should have taken you up on the offer to stay in Amphipolis," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath as he walked over to Xena and stooped down in front of her, taking her hands in his and kissing the backs of them.

"Xena, my love, you're stressing out over things that don't need to be stressed out over. I agree that my parents didn't fully think this out but in their defense, I think that they set up this dinner because they have confidence in you, confidence that you can hold your own against the people of Ithaca and I have that same confidence in you." Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes and couldn't help but grin, "If I knew nothing else about you, Ulysses of Ithaca, it would be enough to know that you are a caring man and that's why I love you so. That's why I said yes, when you asked me to marry you and it's why I'll say I do on our wedding day." Xena said as she ran her hand over Ulysses' cheek while looking into his eyes and he grinned at her. "Feel better now?" He asked and she grinned at him, "not really, huh?" He asked and her grin turned into a smile as she shook her head, "not really but thanks for trying though," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath.

"Maybe I can help?" A voice said and they both looked up as Aphrodite appeared before them, with her hands on her hips as she giggled at them in that flirtatious way that she did. "Xena, I do believe you need some help in getting ready for the big dinner in Ithaca," she said and Xena grinned. "That's an understatement," she said and Aphrodite grinned at her, "not really, I've seen worse cases and trust me when I say you top the list," Aphrodite said then looked at Ulysses who was still stooping down in front of Xena. "Excuse us for a while handsome while I help make your hot babe even hotter," Aphrodite said and Ulysses looked at her then at Xena who nodded her head. "Well, I'll leave you to it," he said as he stood and as he stood he placed a kiss on her forehead, "you're gorgeous to me without Aphrodite's help, remember that," Ulysses said before he kissed her softly then left the cabin.

"Well, now that the wonderful distraction is gone, let's get to work," Aphrodite said as she walked over to Xena who by then had stood up. "He's right though," Aphrodite said, "about what?" Xena asked, "you're gorgeous without my help or anyone else's," Aphrodite said as she ran her finger over Xena's cheek and Xena grinned at her. "That means a lot coming from you, the goddess of love and sex," Xena said and Aphrodite chuckled at her. "Hey, I'm not a total airhead," she said and Xena grinned as she looked at the goddess, "I never thought you were one," Xena said and Aphrodite nodded. "Athena was right, you do have an amazing gift of reading people, that's definitely going to come in handy tonight at the dinner," she said and Xena nodded as she let out a breath and flopped back down on the bed. "Yea, I'm going to a royal dinner with nothing beautiful to wear, I look a mess and uhhh…I can't believe Ulysses' parents would do this," Xena said as she stood and Aphrodite looked at her.

"Well, what's done is done and it can't be undone. We can however use it to our advantage," Aphrodite said. "Meaning?" Xena asked as she looked at the goddess, "let's just say, when I'm done with you, the prince won't care about the dinner because he won't be able to keep his eyes and hands off of you." Aphrodite said with a smile and from then on they began to fix Xena up. First she took a nice, long, hot bubble bath, Aphrodite of course making the tub appear in the room. When she had taken her bath and washed her hair she got out and Aphrodite had some of her priestesses there to help her with preparing Xena. They oiled her body down, massaged her, gave her a manicure and pedicure, did her hair, the works. They had a little time to kill so Xena and Aphrodite just lounged around in the cabin, actually talking to each other and having a nice conversation; Xena was in her robe with her hair done up in rollers while they snacked on some fruit.

"Hey Xena, are you guys bout done in there, you know I have to get dressed too?" Ulysses said as he stood knocking on the door to the cabin since it was locked. They were about an hour away from Ithaca and now the ship was even busier than before. "Xena, baby come on I need my clothes," Ulysses wined outside the door and then the door opened to reveal Aphrodite but she only opened the door enough so that he could see her and nothing else. "Here you go stud," she said as she handed Ulysses his bags and he took them as he tried to see into the room. "Aren't you guys done yet?" He asked, "almost, now go away, we're very busy," Aphrodite said and before Ulysses could reply she closed the door. Just as he was about to walk away the door opened again and Gemini came out, "Xena wants you to check on Argo, make sure she's ready to go or whatever and make sure the wolf looks her best."

Aphrodite said as she poked her head out once again and when she was finished she closed the door and locked it once again. "Thanks," he said as the door closed in his face and then he let out a breath as he went to go and get ready, almost getting bout as anxious as Xena when he realized what was about to go down when they reached Ithaca and the palace. Ulysses went to check on Argo before he got cleaned up and dressed and when he was dressed he looked over Gemini and brushed her some so that she looked tidy. When he was ready, he went up top with Gemini following him and he walked over to the railing where his father and Virgil were standing there looking at the island in the far distance. "It feels good to see home," Ulysses said and they both nodded. "It'll feel even better to step foot in our kingdom and in our home," Julian said and this time Ulysses and Virgil nodded.

"Where's mom?' Ulysses asked, "she's getting dressed. If you haven't learned it yet son, women take forever when getting dressed," Julian said and Ulysses nodded. "I'm beginning to see that," he said as he thought about Xena still getting ready with Aphrodite. Half an hour before they reached the docks, Marguerite walked up top since she was finally ready. "You look beautiful," Julian said to his wife as he wrapped his arm around her waist and she grinned as she leaned into him. "Thank you," she said then placed a kiss on Julian's cheek. "Where's Xena?" Marguerite asked Ulysses who was sitting down playing cards on a barrel with Virgil, "I imagine she's still getting ready, though, after all this time I can't imagine what's left to do," Ulysses said and Marguerite grinned at her son. "You'd be surprise," she said and he nodded as he placed a card on the barrel and he and Virgil continued playing until they were ten minutes away and by then they could definitely see the island.

Meanwhile on Ithaca, when the message that Julian and Marguerite sent was received, they began to plan for the dinner. No one knew what the dinner was about, they just knew that it was a special dinner, so things were prepared and the cooks were going all out. "Camilla," Victoria called as she walked out into the garden where Camilla sat underneath a tree reading a scroll and she looked up when Victoria called her. "Have you heard?" Victoria asked, "about?" Camilla asked as Victoria came and sat down next to her. "The dinner?" Victoria asked and Camilla nodded, "yea, mother and father sent a message to have everything prepared for a special dinner but they didn't say what the dinner was for." Camilla said and Victoria looked at Camilla for a moment before she looked down and began fiddling with the grass.

"I heard through the wind that he's brought her back with him. Do you think this dinner has something to do with them?" Victoria asked and Camilla hunched her shoulder, "I don't know. I doubt it, whatever Ulysses has with this Xena person can't last long, she's a commoner and if I know one thing about my parents, they won't let him get too involved with her," Camilla said and Victoria nodded as she let out a breath and all was quiet for a few minutes until Victoria spoke again. "Do you think it's wrong to want to know more about her?"

She asked and Camilla looked at her friend, "I don't think its wrong but at the same time I don't think it'll help you any to know more about her, it'll just cause you more pain." Camilla said and Victoria nodded, "but I think Ulysses has a picture of her in his room, I just want to see what she looks like," Victoria said. "Victoria," Camilla said in a warning tone that said _'leave it alone'_, "please Milla. I just need to see what made him choose her over me, I just want to look at the picture and see if there is anything there that makes her better than me," Victoria said and Camilla looked into her friend's eyes where she saw she really needed this, so Camilla let out a breath just before she nodded her head.

"Come on," Camilla said as she stood and Victoria stood with her. They left the garden and went into the palace up to Camilla's room. "I have to get the key to his room," she said as she walked into her room and Victoria nodded and waited for Camilla outside of the room. A minute later, Camilla walked out and they headed to Ulysses' room. She used the key to open his door and when they walked in they closed the door behind them. "Whatever he has, it's gotta be in his nightstand or his desk," Camilla said. "I'll check the desk, you check the nightstand," Victoria said and that's what they did. "I'm not finding anything over here, how about you?" Victoria said minutes later and just when Camilla was about to say she couldn't find anything either, she noticed a piece of folded parchment on the side of the drawer and she picked it up and opened it to see the picture of Xena.

"I found something," Camilla said and Victoria closed the drawer and rushed over to Camilla who was standing in front of the nightstand. Victoria took the picture from Camilla and she looked at it, "um…" Victoria said because that's all she could say as she looked at the picture. "Okay, so she's beautiful, that doesn't mean anything," Camilla said and Victoria shook her head as she looked at the picture. "This picture shows more than that, it shows desire, passion, elegance," Victoria said and Camilla shook her head as she took the parchment from Victoria. "This doesn't show or mean anything, the only thing this shows is that a very good artist did this and embellished what she really looks like. That's all this shows, you'll know what type of person she really is when she gets here, if he's really brought her here," Camilla said and by then she had placed the parchment back in its correct spot and then she and Victoria left the room.

Meanwhile, those ten minutes passed by like ten seconds and before Ulysses and his parents knew it, they were at the docks and the plank was being lowered. Julian was the first off of the ship, "my lord, welcome home," Gregory said as he bowed his head to Julian. "It's good to be home Gregory, has everything been well?" Julian asked as he held out his hand to help Marguerite down. "Everything has been fine my lord," he said and Julian nodded. "Where is Xena?" Virgil asked Ulysses as he placed one of his bags on his shoulders, "still in the cabin I guess," Ulysses said and then he and Virgil took their bags and brought them off of the ship and placed them in them in the wagon that would be bringing their things to the palace. Gemini followed Ulysses back and forth on and off the ship helping the sailors with their things, even though he didn't need to and he also made sure that Argo was taken care of by one of the best hands in the stables.

He was about to go and get Xena when he turned his head just in time to see her walking up the stairs, making her way up top. Ulysses was stopped cold in his tracks as he looked at the goddess before him and Aphrodite was no where around. Xena wore a red, sleeveless dress that fell down to the middle of her legs. It showed off some cleavage but not a lot, just enough to keep Ulysses enticed but that wouldn't be hard, given that the dress she wore clung to all of her curves, each and every one that Ulysses' loved. She wore sandals with a medium height heel and she had loose curls in her hair as well as sapphire earrings that brought out the color in her eyes, though she needed no help with that. She smiled at Ulysses as she walked over to him until she was standing in front of him, "so what do you think?" She asked then turned around so that Ulysses could see the back of the dress which had a criss-cross pattern in the middle of her back but most of her back was exposed but she was covered decently.

When she turned back around and looked at Ulysses he was still running his eyes over her entire body. "Wow," he said after he let out a surprised breath. Xena grinned as Ulysses took her hand and held her arm up so as he continued to look over her, "baby, you look amazing," he said and Xena's grin turned into a smile as she walked up closer to Ulysses until they were a breath apart and he could smell her. "You smell divine," he whispered to her and Xena couldn't stop smiling as she leaned in and they shared a soft, passionate kiss. When the kiss ended Xena handed Ulysses the necklace he bought her then turned around, "do you mind?" She asked, "not at all," he said then placed the necklace around her neck and fastened it in the back. He then ran his hands over Xena's shoulders and couldn't believe how soft her skin was.

"You have such soft skin," he said before he leaned down and placed a kiss on her shoulder. Xena grinned as she turned around and looked into Ulysses' eyes. "Now I'm ready," she said and Ulysses grinned and nodded as he took her hand and they walked off of the ship. "Gregory, you remember Xena," Ulysses said and Gregory nodded. "I do, it's nice to see you again my lady," he said and Xena grinned at him, "It's nice to see you again as well," she said. "You look beautiful Xena," Marguerite said and Xena grinned, "doesn't she?" Ulysses said as he wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. "Now that we're all ready, I believe we can head to the palace," Julian said and they all nodded. Julian and Marguerite walked to their carriage and Xena, Ulysses and Virgil walked to the carriage they would be sharing.

"Wait, Argo," Xena said, "she's being taken care of," Ulysses said. "But…" Xena began to say, "but nothing Xena, I have one of the best caretakers in Ithaca taking care of her. She will be fine my love, she'll have one of the best stalls, she'll be fed and brushed and in the morning she'll be allowed to run free in a huge yard," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes and let out a breath and nodded. He helped her into the carriage then got in behind her and Gemini was behind him, Virgil being last to get in. "What about my things?" Xena asked, "your things will be taken to my room," he said then picked Xena's hand up and kissed the back of it. "Relax, everything is going to be fine," Ulysses said and Xena let out a claming breath as she leaned back and relaxed; to Xena they were heading to a new challenge.

**Continued in **

**Chapter 11: Opening New doors and leaving a Crack in Old Ones**

**Positive and Negative Feedback is welcomed**

**And would be much appreciated**

**So please let me know how I am doing and if you like or dislike the story **


	11. Chapter 11

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. Just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played, so the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if it's too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination. lol 

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together. There is no more violence than your regular Xena episode.

**Chapter 11: Opening New Doors and Leaving a Crack in Old Ones**

When the carriage began to move, Xena looked out of the window and began to see some of the beautiful island that Ulysses talked so much about. "You were right, it is beautiful here," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he looked at Xena, watching her as she looked out at the beautiful scenery. "You haven't seen anything yet, I can't wait to show you some of the most beautiful places here, my old haunts and things like that." Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she turned and looked at him, "and I can't wait to see them," she said and they both grinned at each other before Xena turned back around and continued to look out of the window. "They're back," Victoria said as she walked up to Camilla who was on her way to the Dinning Hall, "I know, that's why I'm heading to the dinning hall," she said. "I'm going to sit with you," Victoria said and Camilla stopped and looked at her best friend. "No you're not," she said and Victoria looked at her, "why not?"

She asked, "because if the rumor you heard is true about Ulysses brining Xena back, then she's going to be sitting with him at the table with me. That won't be a good situation for you and you know it," Camilla said and Victoria looked at her and nodded. "True but if the rumor is wrong I still want to sit with you, I have no one to talk to but my little sister when I sit with my family." She said and Camilla grinned and nodded, "yea we do have fun talking with each other when we eat," Camilla said as they continued to walking to the dinning hall. It took ten minutes for the carriages to arrive at the palace and of course Julian and Marguerite were the first ones out of their carriage. Virgil got out first, followed by Gemini and then Ulysses got out and turned around and held his hand out to Xena, helping her out of the carriage and she grinned as she placed her hand in his and got out.

Once she was out, she looked around at the beautifully scenery, the beautiful assortment of flowers, bushes, the green grass and the fountain in the front of the court yard but what she really paid attention to was the huge, beautiful palace in front of her. "This is where you live?" Xena asked Ulysses and he grinned as he nodded, "yes, this is my home," he said and she nodded as she looked at him. "Not bad," she said and he chuckled. "I see right through you my love, I know that you're amazed," he said as he leaned over and whispered to her and Xena grinned as she looked into Ulysses' eyes, caressing his cheek before she turned her attention back to the palace. "This is beautiful," she said as they walked up the stairs where Virgil's parents met them.

"Did you have a safe trip?" Lucius asked his son, as he shook his forearm then clapped him on the back. "As safe as possible," Virgil said then leaned in and placed a kiss on his mother's cheek and Lucius nodded then turned and looked at Julian, bowing his head in respect to his King and Queen. "My lord, my lady," he said, "Lucius its good to see you my friend, Gregory has told me that everything has been well," Julian said and Lucius nodded. "Indeed, we've had a few minor skirmishes and a few confrontations but nothing we couldn't handle. There are a few things for you to look over though," Lucius said and Julian nodded, "can it wait until tomorrow? I want all of my attention on the dinner tonight," Julian said and Lucius nodded. "Of course and may I ask, what is the occasion for this special dinner tonight?"

Lucius asked and Julian grinned as he looked at his long time friend, "I can tell you now because soon everyone else will know. My son has decided to take a wife," Julian said and Lucius' face showed surprise as he looked at Julian then turned and looked at Ulysses who grinned as he walked up the stairs until he was standing in front of Lucius. "Allow me to introduce you to the wonderful woman who has stolen my heart," Ulysses said with a grin as he held out his hand to Xena who took it and walked up to Ulysses so that she was standing next to him. "Lucius this is Xena," Ulysses introduced him to Xena, "Xena this is Lucius, Virgil's father and my father's head advisor," Ulysses said and Xena smiled as she held out her hand and Lucius smiled as well as he took her hand. "It's nice to meet you," Xena said, "it is nice to meet you as well," he said as he raised her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

"For a while I thought Ulysses would never settle down, so it is an honor to meet the woman who has achieved such a great feat," Lucius said and Xena grinned as her hand and Ulysses' hand automatically came together. Lucius looked at them then at Julian, "well this is indeed a good cause for a special dinner," he said, "speaking of which, we need to be on our way," Marguerite said and they nodded and proceeded to walk into the palace and head to the Dinning Hall. As they walked towards the dinning hall, Xena couldn't help but look around at the spectacular palace that Ulysses called home. She had to admit it was definitely beautiful, the design was unique but beautiful none the less, she was sure there was not another palace like this one in existence. Ulysses grinned as he watched Xena and the fascination in her eyes, "I'll show you around tomorrow," he said as he leaned into her and she looked into his eyes and nodded. Their stroll slowed down when they were but a few doors down from the hall, and once they were outside the door, Virgil and his parents went in first then Ulysses' parents and after a couple of minutes they would follow.

Xena let out a breath, tried to rid her stomach of the butterflies she had, Ulysses turned to face Xena and he looked into her eyes where he could see that she was really nervous. He brought her hand up and kissed the back of it, "relax, you're going to be fine," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she swallowed hard. "No matter what people say or you may hear, know that I love you and I won't let you go without a fight," he said with a grin and Xena smiled at that. "I love you too," she said and Ulysses grinned then leaned in and kissed her softly. When the kiss ended he nodded to the guards to open the door since they were ready to go inside, "If ever you feel insecure, just take my hand," Ulysses whispered to Xena who nodded and let out a breath one last time before they walked into the dinning hall. Her hand was holding Ulysses' hand and when they walked in and she saw all the people there, she held his hand a little bit tighter and he squeezed her hand back in a sign of assurance.

Everyone there was talking before they walked in and when they walked in the hall fell silent, everyone had stopped talking to watch Xena and Ulysses walk in and the talking or more like whispers, began again as they looked at Xena, wondering who she was and more importantly, they wondered who she was to Ulysses since they were holding hands, he never showed a sign of affection to any woman he had been with, not in public, so everyone was really curious. They walked over to the head table where his parents sat, along with his sister, Virgil and his parents. His father was of course at the head of the table and Marguerite sat to his right and to his left the chair was empty because that's where Ulysses sat. Once they were at the table Ulysses pulled out the chair next to his for Xena and she grinned at him as she sat down, thankful that the walk in was over, never in her life had she been so nervous. She was also thankful that she was sitting next to Virgil, "that wasn't so bad now was it?" Ulysses whispered to Xena and she grinned at him as she looked into his eyes, "not with you at my side," she said and he grinned into her eyes.

Once they were seated, musicians began playing some soft music and everyone began talking again. "Xena this is my sister Camilla, Camilla this is Xena," he introduced Xena to his sister who was sitting across from Xena. "It's nice to meet you, Ulysses has told you so many wonderful things about you," Xena said and Camilla grinned at her but the grin didn't reach her eyes. "You as well and I wish I could say the same but my brother has barely spoken of you," she said and Ulysses looked at his sister. "Camilla, don't be an irritating brat tonight please," he said with a grin on his face and she looked at him then picked up her glass. "I won't be a brat if you promise not to be an ass," she said as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs as she took a sip of wine. Ulysses raised his hands in a choking manner as he looked at his sister, "ooh, I could just choke you sometimes," he said and Camilla was getting ready to say something when Marguerite stopped her before she could start.

"Please not tonight you two, especially when we have a guest at the table," Marguerite said, nodding her head towards Xena and the siblings looked at each other. "Fine, I'll behave if he will," Camilla said, "I always behave," Ulysses said and Camilla rolled her eyes at him and Ulysses shook his head at his sister then looked at Xena and grinned. "This is normal," he said and Xena grinned as she nodded, "I see," she said then looked at the servant that walked up next to her. "Wine my lady?" She asked and Xena grinned and nodded, "thanks," she said and the servant bowed her head in respect then filled Ulysses' glass next. Everyone talked among themselves while they ate some of the appetizers that were brought out, until twenty minutes later when dinner was brought out. Xena had to admit that so far she was enjoying herself but that was partly because she hadn't met anyone else, she was just getting to know Virgil's parents and Camilla who she got the very distinct feeling from, that she didn't like her.

About an hour later when everyone had finished their dinner and they were beginning to mingle amongst themselves as well as dance on the dance floor, Julian thought it was time to announce the reason they all had been brought here. However, before he did he leaned over and whispered to Ulysses, "are you and Xena ready?" He asked his son and Ulysses looked into his father's eyes, "as ready as we're ever going to be," he said and Julian nodded as he stood and lightly tapped his eating knife against his glass which caused a clanging noise and it got everyone's attention. Once the room was quiet, Julian began to speak, "everyone seems to be in good spirits tonight so it must be the food," Julian said and they chuckled at him and he grinned as he held his hand up to silence them. "I'm sure you are all wondering why my wife and I planned such a special dinner," he said. "We thought it was because you needed help eating all this great food," one nobleman said and they all chuckled at him, including Julian.

"Still haven't learned how to cook yet Benton?" Julian asked with a grin, "no my lord, perhaps you could show me a few things," Benton answered. "He could if he knew how to cook himself," Marguerite said as she stood next to Julian who grinned at her and the others chuckled as well. "Hey, whose side are you on?" Julian asked and Marguerite grinned at him. "Maybe we can take a cooking class together my lord," Benton said and Julian looked at him. "Well that's a good idea Benton," Marguerite said, "thank you my lady," he said and everyone chuckled as the atmosphere became even lighter. "What do you say my lord?" Benton asked, "my schedule is kind of cramped," he said and everyone laughed at their King's obvious attempt to get out of that situation. Julian grinned as he held his hand up once more for silence, "as I was saying before Benton rudely interrupted me," Julian said, "I'm so sorry my lord," Benton said in a fake humble manner and they all chuckled once more.

Julian grinned and pointed at Benton who was actually one of the noblemen he was friends with. "I know all of you are wondering two things," Marguerite said. "One, why are you here?" She said, "and secondly, who is this incredibly gorgeous woman sitting next to my son," Julian said and Xena grinned at Julian. "Well those two questions have one answer," Julian said then paused for a dramatic effect. "Recently after the war with Paxos my wife and I had a talk with our son, we wanted to know how this change in him had occurred because as many of you know my son and I always butted heads and Marguerite has recently reminded me that my son is a lot like his father in many aspects." Julian said as he looked at Ulysses, "strong in body and mind, stubborn…stubborn as a mule," he said and some chuckled at that. "Intelligent, inspiring, truthful, honorable, kind," Julian said, continuing to use adjectives to describe his son that he was so proud of.

"And I think all here would agree with me when I say he has a big heart," he said and most smiled and nodded because they all knew the kind man Ulysses was. "Ulysses is most like me in the way that when he loves, he loves hard and with all of his heart," Julian said as he looked at Marguerite and she grinned at him and they looked at their son. "So after the war was over and he had recovered from his wound, we went to him one night and we asked him what had caused this change in him." He said then looked at Xena, "that's when he first spoke of you," he said. "Xena is the woman who sits next to my son," he said for everyone to hear. "He said her name is Xena and she's from Amphipolis," Julian said as he remembered their conversation as if it had happened yesterday. "He spoke nothing of you but great things," Julian said as he looked at Xena and she grinned at him. "He said dad, her name is Xena, she's from Amphipolis where her mother owns the Inn there and her brothers work the fields."

He said, "so I said…" Julian started but Ulysses finished for him, "so she's a peasant?" Ulysses said with a grin on his face and Julian grinned and nodded. "Yes…yes I did say that," Julian said, "and you told me she was more than that. You told me she was kind, very intelligent, strong in mind and body, amazing and a whole bunch of other things," he said. "Well from that point on when he spoke of Xena, Marguerite and I could see that our son was smitten with Xena, but knowing our son we just thought it was another one of his interesting relationships with women that he has," Julian said and they all grinned at the way he described Ulysses' past relationships or rather excursions. "I didn't want to admit it at first but something Ulysses said registered in my mind and I knew, I knew that his relationship with Xena was more than we thought." Julian said and he paused for a minute, "what did he say?" Someone asked and Julian grinned as he looked out at everyone then at Ulysses.

"What did you say?" He asked his son with a grin on his face and Ulysses smiled as he shook his head, "what did you say?" Xena asked him and he looked at her, he looked into her eyes as he spoke the words he spoke on that night. "I said, she is the Queen of my heart and with all that I am, I love her," he said then continued to look deep into Xena's eyes, "I love her," he said once more and Julian grinned as he looked at them both. "Well when we heard that, Marguerite and I knew we had to go and meet this woman, this great woman, person, who had changed our son for the better," he said then Ulysses stood and spoke to the crowd. "You know after I said that they still didn't believe me?" Ulysses asked and they grinned at him, "we went to Amphipolis and my parents met Xena's mom and brothers and they hit it off while we waited for Xena.

When Xena got there they hit it off with her as well, my parents were happy, Xena's family was happy, Xena was happy and I was happy; it was a great day," Ulysses said as he looked down at Xena who grinned up at him. "Yes it was," Julian said, "until," Ulysses said to his father, "until I did this," Ulysses said to the crowd of people watching and listening to him. They watched as he got down on one knee and looked into Xena's eyes as he took her hand in his, "Xena of Amphipolis, I love you with all that I am and my life wouldn't be complete if you weren't in it. Will you marry me?" Ulysses asked and there were murmurs throughout the room and even some gasps. Xena grinned as she looked into Ulysses' eyes, "Yes…yes I will marry you," she said and there were more gasps and murmurs.

Ulysses leaned in and kissed her softly before he stood with her hand in his as Xena couldn't to sit, "my parent's faces were a lot like some faces I see now. They were outraged that their son, who was a prince and would one day be King, had asked a peasant to marry him." Ulysses said as he looked at his parents and Julian nodded, "we were indeed. Out of all the women Ulysses could have had, he had his pick of princesses and noblemen's daughters but he chose a simple village woman, or so we thought. We judged Xena without getting to know her and that was our mistake. We raised Ulysses to be a strong man, strong minded and strong willed and there are some times when we are regretting that," Julian said with a grin and Ulysses grinned back at him. "I knew the depth of Ulysses' love for Xena when he told me if I made him choose between Ithaca and Xena, he would choose Xena," he said and there were more murmurs.

"What could I say to that?" Julian asked with a grin as he looked at his son then out at everyone else. "We were left with the choice to get to know Xena before we made decisions about her. Since then, we have spent many days talking with Xena and getting to know her and now we see what it is that Ulysses sees. She may be a commoner but she is far from being common. She's a great woman with many talents, she's great in the kitchen, a great healer, she has a kind heart, she's very intelligent, brave, very bold," he said and Xena grinned at him. "And if you all haven't seen it, she's gorgeous," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him as she shook his hand and Julian chuckled at them as did a few others. "Yes, she's extremely beautiful but that isn't what makes her the great woman that she is. First and foremost we have accepted her for who she is and finally, for what she is. My son is happy, he is happier than he has ever been and if I knew nothing else about Xena, if I knew nothing else about this woman, it is enough to know that she makes my son as happy as she does."

Julian said and by then Ulysses had sat down and Xena grinned at Julian when she said that and all she could do was continue to smile as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair. "Loving your son and making him happy comes as natural to me as breathing air," she said loud enough for everyone to hear and Ulysses grinned as he leaned his face against Xena's. "Moments such as these," Julian said as he held out his hand towards Ulysses and Xena, "wash away any doubt in my mind that they shouldn't be together. So Marguerite and I have given our blessing and agreed that Ulysses and Xena will be married." Julian said, and though a lot were stunned they clapped their hands in congratulations none the less and Xena and Ulysses just leaned in and shared a soft but passionate kiss.

"So that's why you're all here," Marguerite said, "you're here to celebrate our son's engagement and to meet the next Princess and one day your future Queen and a great Queen I know she'll make," Marguerite continued with a smile and everyone clapped once more. After that was done everyone went back to talking amongst themselves again and now the subject of talk was Ulysses marrying a commoner. As time passed by people came up to congratulate Xena and Ulysses and to get a pick at Xena, to see what she was all about. Xena actually found a group of women she was comfortable around, they seemed more down to earth than like the stuck up royalty she imagined most of them to be. "I see a couple of guys I wanna talk to, you okay here by yourself?" Ulysses asked Xena and she grinned at him and nodded, "yea I'm okay," she said and he looked at her.

"You sure?" He asked and she grinned at him, "I feel comfortable here and it helps that your mother is here too," she said and Ulysses nodded. "I'll be right over there if you need me," he said and Xena nodded then shooed him away. Ulysses was heading over to where Virgil was with a couple of guys they knew when Camilla walked up to her brother. "So I suppose congratulations are in order," she said and he looked at her. "It would be nice if my sister congratulated her brother on his upcoming marriage," Ulysses said and Camilla looked into his eyes then shook her head. "You're happy now and that's great but what about the women whose hearts you've broken? What about Victoria? Have you even for a second thought about how this great announcement, you, mother and father made, made her feel?" Camilla asked and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked at his sister, "What do you want from me Camilla? Hmmm…What do you want? I can't simply put my life on hold because Victoria refuses to let go of me.

No matter how I try to explain it to her, no matter what I do or say, she won't let go and I'm at a loss as to what I'm supposed to do." Ulysses said and Camilla looked at him, "well bringing _her_ here definitely hasn't helped matters any," she said, talking about Xena with disgust in her voice and contempt in her eyes and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked at his equally strong minded sister. "I'm not going to do this with you," Ulysses said, "do what?" Camilla asked, "justify falling in love and deciding to marry Xena. I love her Camilla, I love her," he said as he pointed towards Xena while looking dead into his sister's eyes so that she could see how serious he was. "With every fiber of my being I LOVE HER! And what's more, I plan on marrying her no matter what, NO…MATTER…WHAT!" He said, enunciating every word as he looked at her, "Now I'm sorry that Victoria is hurting the way she is, I know it's my fault and I have tried everything in my power to fix it but unless she wants her heart to be fixed, I can do nothing more, say anything more than I already have."

He said and Camilla was about to say something when Ulysses cut her off, "and instead of always harassing me about Victoria and the pain she's in, you should try and help her put her life back together because Camilla I can't do it anymore, I won't." He said with conviction in his voice and in his eyes, "I feel the regret of the pain I have caused Victoria and in some ways I have let it dictate my life, well no more. I can't be concerned with how Victoria is doing, what she's thinking and how she's feeling. I've done that for some months now but now it has to stop because in a couple of months I will have a wife who will depend on me and count on me to be there for her in every way imaginable and I won't be able to do that if I'm worried about a former lover; don't dare ask that of me. Now Victoria will always hold a special place in my heart and I thank her…I thank her for all that she's help me through but I can't be what she needs and she needs to understand that none of this is done to hurt her more but that I'm moving on with my life and she needs to do the same because I can't be what she needs, what she wants."

Ulysses finished and Camilla looked into her brother's eyes and after a minute she nodded, "you're right, you're right about everything but you have to understand it's hard for me to see my best friend in so much pain, especially when my brother is the cause of that pain." Camilla said then looked down for a minute as she shook her head, "you're so gods damn stubborn and you always have to have what you want," she said as she looked into her brother's eyes. "If you would have just listened to me, none of us would be in the positions we are in now," she said then let out a breath. "But the past is just that, we can only look towards the future and try and fix this mess," Camilla said and Ulysses let out a breath when he saw that his sister understood what he was saying earlier. Camilla walked up to her brother and gave him a hug, "congratulations," she whispered in his ear before she placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," he said as the hug ended, "it's good to see you happy," she said and he grinned at her. "Why don't you get to know Xena," he suggested. "In time but right now I have to go and see about Victoria, try to get her to see the upside of things," she said and Ulysses nodded and watched as his sister walked away. He let out a breath and made his way over to Virgil talking to a couple of people he knew in the process. "Is everything alright with Camilla?" Virgil asked his friend and Ulysses let out a breath and nodded, "finally," he said and Virgil smiled as he slapped Ulysses on the back. "Well perk up, you're about to be married in a couple of months to a great woman and we're celebrating that this night," Virgil said as he handed Ulysses a glass of wine and Ulysses grinned at his friend as he took the glass and took a deep gulp.

Ulysses and Virgil hung out with some of their old friends for a while, Ulysses drinking two full glasses of Ithaca's red, sweet, potent wine. From those two glasses he got a buzz but through all his laughing and clowning around, he always kept an eye on Xena and she did the same. As it got later, the wine flowed more freely as did the music and many couples began to dance. After a while Ulysses made his way over to Xena, "excuse me ladies," he said as he wrapped his arms around Xena and she grinned as she leaned back into him. "Excuse me while I steal my future wife for a dance," he said and Xena grinned as she took Ulysses' hand and they went to the dance floor. The music was a fast beat playing and they began to dance to it both of them smiling as they enjoyed themselves. They danced dance after dance until finally a slow dance came on and they held each other close, until the point not even air could go through their bodies.

Xena had her arms wrapped around Ulysses' shoulder while her fingers ran through his hair, their heads leaning against each other while Ulysses had his arms wrapped tightly around Xena. Their eyes were closed as they swayed to the beat and without much effort everything slipped away until it was only them on the dance floor. "This night has been so great," Xena said, "ummm," Ulysses hummed in agreement. After a couple of minutes Ulysses pulled back some so that his forehead was resting against Xena's and they looked into each other's eyes. "You know what?" He asked, "what?" Xena asked, "this has got to be one of the happiest moments in my life," he said and Xena couldn't stop the full fledged smile that broke out on her face. Xena looked into Ulysses' brown eyes as she placed her hands on his face, "I love you," she said and Ulysses grinned as he leaned in and stole a passionate kiss from Xena. Xena inhaled sharply as she returned the kiss with as much enthusiasm and passion if not more.

When the kiss ended they continued to look into each other's eyes as they continued to dance. "I've never seen him so happy," Lucius said to Julian as they watched Xena and Ulysses dance. "Neither have I and seeing him this happy lets me know I've made the right choice," he said and Lucius nodded. "It must have been hard though, to allow your only son to marry a commoner," Lucius said and Julian looked out at them. "At first it was but as I got to know Xena, Marguerite and I slowly began to see the strong connection she has with Ulysses. A bond as strong as theirs shouldn't be broken because of something as little as nobility." Julian said and Lucius thought about that as they continued to watch them as did a couple of others, "so when is the wedding?" He asked, "they haven't set a date yet," Julian said, "well you know there are processes and rituals they have to go through before the ceremony can take place," Lucius said and Julian looked at his head advisor, raising his eyebrow in the process.

"I am married, so I do recall all that they must do," Julian said and Lucius nodded, "I was just making sure," he said and Julian let out a breath. "Besides, Xena has to go through most of it any way, it's nothing really serious so they shouldn't have a problem," Julian said at least that's what he hoped. Before either one of them could say anything else, their wives took their hands and pulled them onto the dance floor where they danced. With everyone on the dance floor, Julian wanted to dance with Xena so he and Ulysses switched and as they danced they talked. Soon Lucius wanted a go as well, then Virgil until finally Xena was back in Ulysses' arms, "long time no see," Xena said with a smile on her face and Ulysses smiled back. "Believe me that wasn't my idea," he said with a smile and she smiled back. "It was fine, I enjoyed myself," she said, "well that's all that matters," Ulysses said with a smile and Xena smiled back as they continued to dance.

An hour later as the celebration began to die down, Xena and Ulysses bid everyone a good night then left the hall. The moment they walked out of the door, Ares jumped all over them, "were you out here the whole time girl?" Xena asked the wolf who made it clear that she was, "she wanted to go in but we couldn't let her," one of the guards said and Xena and Ulysses looked at him. "That was quite alright," Ulysses said. "She wasn't trouble was she?" Xena asked and the guard shook his head, "no my lady, she was well behaved, she wouldn't let anyone touch her but me. She's a beautiful dog," the guard said and Xena grinned at him, "what's your name?" She asked him, "Milo, my lady," he said. "Well Milo, Gemini here is not a dog, she's a wolf," Xena said and Milo looked at her. "Well that would explain why she wouldn't let anyone touch her," he said and Xena nodded. "She let you touch her so she must trust you, don't betray that trust," Ulysses said.

"Betray the trust of a wolf? Never," Milo said as he looked at Gemini and Xena grinned." It was nice meeting you Milo," Xena said, "it was nice meeting you as well my lady," he said as he bowed his head in respect and Xena continued to grin as she took Ulysses' hand and he led the way to his room. They weren't in a rush to get to Ulysses' room, so they just strolled, talking about the night as they did. "Well this is it," Ulysses said as they arrived to his room, he unlocked the door and walked into the room, Xena following him. Lanterns and candles had been lit so they could see and Xena looked around the room while Ulysses closed and locked the door. "How about I give you a quick tour?" Ulysses suggested and Xena looked at him, "your room is that big that you need to give me a tour?" She asked with a grin and Ulysses smiled at her, "well these are my chambers, now your chambers, and there is more than one room," he said and Xena nodded.

"Lead the way," she said and Ulysses nodded, "well this is the sitting area, just sit in her and relax, entertain guests," he said and Xena nodded as she looked around the large room that held furniture, a fireplace as well as a table to eat. "And this is the bedroom," he said as he walked into the bedroom with Xena behind him and she looked around the room which was a large if not larger than the sitting room. She looked at the huge bed in the middle of the room, against the wall, night stands on both sides and furs around the bed. She looked at the large fireplace, where two comfortable chairs sat across from each other in a sort of slant and there were furs in front of the fireplace as well. There was also a sofa there along with a small, long table in front of it, there was a chest of drawers which held some of Ulysses' clothes, the closet holding the rest and over to the other side of the room was a medium size table were two people could eat. "Those are the doors to the balcony," Ulysses pointed to the double doors and Xena walked over to them and moved the curtain back to peek out side and while Xena looked around, Gemini sniffed around, getting the feel of things but making sure to keep up with her mistress.

Xena's things had been placed against the wall in a neat manner, "I'll have a dresser put in here for you and I'll clean out the other side of the closet for you," he said and Xena nodded as she continued to look around. "Come on," Ulysses said as he walked over to another door that was closed. "There's more?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned as he opened the door, "this is the last room," he said and they walked into a small hall which was lit by lanterns. "Lastly, this is the bathing chamber," he said as they turned right and ran straight into the bath chamber. "That's a big tub," Xena said as she looked at the huge, round tub, that was in the ground in the middle of the room. Ulysses just grinned at her, "a fireplace heats the water and you can add cold water to the temperature you want. It's just like the showers in Amphipolis," he said. "Speaking of which," he said as he lead her over to where the shower stall was and it was large as well, twice the size of the ones in Amphipolis.

There were shelves built into the walls that held towels, oils, soaps and sponges as well as other minor accessories. There were benches were you could sit down, a full length mirror as well as a place where you could just rinse of your face. "Wow," Xena said as they walked back into the bedroom and Ulysses grinned at her. "Living in the Inn must have been a torture," she said and Ulysses shook his head as he sat down on the sofa and began taking off his boots. "Nah, it was a nice change, having all of this gets tiring sometimes," he said. "I can imagine," Xena said in a sarcastic tone and Ulysses chuckled at her. "I'm beat," Xena said as she walked over to her bags and began pulling out her sleeping shift. "I guess this isn't quite appropriate for the life of a future princess," Xena said referring to her shift and Ulysses looked up at her and it.

"Who cares? No one but me should see it anyway," he said as he stood and took off his shirt before he walked over to Xena, taking her hand and pulling her towards him. "No one but me should see you take it off, help you take it off, or rip it off if the feeling hits me," he told her as he placed his hand against her cheek and Xena grinned at him then closed her eyes and luxuriated in the soft, passionate kiss they shared. "I whole heartedly agree," Xena said and Ulysses chuckled then leaned back in and they kissed once more. When the kiss ended, Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes, then looked down for a minute, "what?" He asked, sensing that she wanted to tell him something. "Would you be upset if I said I didn't want to make love tonight? I'm just really exhausted," she said and Ulysses grinned at her as he continued to caress her cheek.

"Xena, we don't have to make love every night," he said, "I mean its great that we sometimes do make love every night, more than once a night but it's not required," Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded. "I know but I can tell that you wanna," she said and he smiled at her as he lowered his hands and took her hands in his. "Xena my love," he said as he brought her hands up and kissed them, "I love you, you're a gorgeous, sexy woman, I always want to make love to you. You're very…" he said then looked over her body as he tried to find a word and Xena smiled at him, "shit I can't even find a word for what you are. All I know is that with every waking breath, I want you but that doesn't mean I have to have you or if you tell me you don't feel like it or feel up to it, I'm going to through a fit," he said and Xena smiled as she moved closer while she ran her hands over Ulysses' chest.

"I would, especially when I have such a sexy man in front of me and I know what he has and what he can do," she said as she looked over his body and Ulysses smiled as he shook his head. "Dangerous is the word for you, you're dangerous and you're a tease," he said as he placed his hands on her face while leaning down. "Is that so?" She asked and Ulysses nodded, "that is so," he said before he kissed her softly and when the kiss ended, Ulysses softly ran his thumb over Xena's cheek. "See, I want you now but you said you're tired, so I can wait until you're up to it," he said and Xena grinned at him. "Thank you," she said as she looked into his eyes, "no problem," he said then watched as Xena walked away and began getting ready for bed, he let out a breath to calm himself before he too got ready for bed.

Xena didn't lie to Ulysses though, she was tired, she was emotionally drained rather than physically and sometimes that could be just as exhausting as overexerting your body. The whole thing with meeting everyone and announcing to them that they were getting married, was a lot more stress on Xena than she thought it would be. She really cared about the impression she made on Ulysses' people so she tried harder than normal to make sure that she was accepted or at the most, liked. "You want something to drink," Ulysses asked, "no, I just want to lay down," she said as she walked over to the bed, pulling the covers back then got into the bed, moaning at how soft it was. Ulysses gulped down a cup of water and looked at Xena who was lying on her stomach, hugging the equally soft pillows. With his pajama pants on he turned down all of the lanterns except for one, which was far away. He got into the bed from the other side and Gemini jumped onto the bed, settling at the foot.

Ulysses let out a breath as he laid down on his back, placing his left arm behind his head as he looked up at the canopy of the bed. "It wasn't as bad as you thought it would be, was it?" Ulysses asked Xena and she shook her head no, "no it wasn't. I actually like a couple of them, and most of the others I could see right through," Xena mumbled and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her. "You were great," he said and she opened her eyes and looked at him. "Thanks but if I was great, it was only because I knew you were by my side no matter what," she said, "always," he said as he looked into her eyes. Xena was tired but she used the last of her energy to move into Ulysses' arms so that her head was on his chest, her leg between his and her arm across his midsection. Ulysses wrapped his free arm around Xena then placed a kiss on her forehead, "I don't think your sister likes me," Xena said after a couple of quiet minutes.

"What makes you say that?" Ulysses asked, "the way she acted towards me, the way she looked at me and her not so happy expression when she found out we were getting married," she said. "Camilla is….Camilla," Ulysses said as he thought about it for a minute. "Right now, she's more concerned with how Victoria is doing with all of this and its hard for her to be happy for me when I'm the cause of her best friend's pain and she believes bringing you here will only make things worse for Victoria." Ulysses said and everything was quiet for a couple of minutes as Xena thought about that, "are you concerned with how Victoria is doing with all of this?" Xena asked in a soft voice and Ulysses let out a breath, "yes and no. I don't want to see her in pain but at the same time I can't and won't put my life on hold until she's happy with everything. As I told Camilla, I've tried everything in my power to help Victoria, to make her see that we just weren't meant to be but…" He said then let out a breath, "only time will heal her heart. Nothing you or anyone says or does is going to miraculously fix her heart, only time can heal a wound like that; time and willingness to move on."

Xena said, "part of the problem is she won't let me go and I can't keep being there for her, I won't. I'll be there as a friend but nothing more," he said and Xena let out a breath as she pushed closer into Ulysses. "I'm about to be a husband and I will be there for you Xena, in ever way imaginable, I can't afford Victoria to deter me from that or to stop me. You are what matters most to me in this world, you're my main priority," he said and Xena just laid there and listened to him as she softly caressed his chest. "Its good to hear that," she said and from that point on nothing else was said and they both eventually dosed off, Xena before Ulysses as he laid there and continued to think about a couple more things before he let Morpheus take him.

When morning came Ulysses woke an hour after sunrise and he looked over at Xena who was peacefully asleep on her side. He eased out of bed as to not wake her and he went to relieve himself and get freshened up. When he walked back into the bedroom and eased the curtains back from the window allowing the sun to shine into the room and onto the bed. He looked at Xena who moaned as she pushed into the soft bed and her pillow, she gripped the sheets where Ulysses was but she continued to sleep. Ulysses smiled and quietly went around the room putting on a pair of pants and a shirt then his boots. He left his room and was headed to the dinning hall when he ran into Lucius, "Good Morning Lucius," Ulysses said. "Good Morning Ulysses, your mother wanted me to let you know that they'll be having breakfast in their chambers, they needed some time to recover from your trip," he said and Ulysses nodded. "I was going to say the same except we're more exhausted from the dinner last night than anything," Ulysses said and Lucius nodded.

"Seems as if everyone needs a day off, Virgil's still asleep as well," Lucius said and Ulysses grinned. "Well I'll be showing Xena around today when she wakes up, so I'll be around if you need me," Ulysses said and Lucius nodded then patted Ulysses on the shoulder before he went his way and Ulysses went to the dinning hall where he requested that breakfast be sent to his chambers. He checked on a couple of things then went back to the room, where Xena was still peacefully sleeping, Ulysses hoped the smell of breakfast would wake her but until then, he got dressed in some comfortable lounging clothes and just sat there and watched Xena sleep as he thought about her before there was a knock on the door.

Ulysses answered the door and it was the servants delivering breakfast and he told them to quietly set things up in the bedroom at the table. They moved swiftly and quietly and when they were done they bowed before Ulysses and left. Ulysses walked over to the table and picked up a grape. A few minutes later Xena stretched in the bed and at the same time she reached out for Ulysses, when she felt that he wasn't there she opened her eyes and raised her head some. "Good morning sleepy head," Ulysses said from his position by the table. "Good morning," Xena said as she sat up in the bed, "breakfast?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned as she got out of bed, "just let me freshen up first," she said and Ulysses nodded and watched as she headed into the bath chamber. He sat down at the table and began eating some of the fruit and a couple of minutes later Xena walked back into the room and over to the table where she sat down in the chair that was next to Ulysses but at the other side of the table.

"This looks great," she said then picked up a grape smiling when she found that it was sweet as was all the fruit she began to eat. There was an assortment of food there to eat and as they ate they talked. "So how did you sleep?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned at him as she ate a strawberry, "wonderful, your bed is so soft," she said and Ulysses chuckled as he took a small gulp of orange juice, "and here I thought you slept so well because you were in my arms," he said with mischief in his eyes as he picked up another grape and Xena grinned as she picked up a piece of cheese. "Well that helped too," she said, the same mischief shinning back in her eyes and Ulysses just smiled as he continued to eat his breakfast.

"After we've finished breakfast I figured I'd show you around if you'd like," he said and Xena nodded. "That sounds great, I would love to see more of the place that you've talked so much about," she said and Ulysses grinned then picked up a piece of sausage with his fork. "It'll take more than one day for me to show you everything," he said and Xena looked at him, "and still I look forward to it," Xena said and Ulysses bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. When they were finished eating, Ulysses sent for servants to come and remove the dishes then they got ready to go. Ulysses had walked into the sitting room for a minute and when he returned to the bedroom, he found Xena preparing to make up the bed. "What are you doing?" He asked as he looked at her with amusement in his eyes, "I'm getting ready to make the bed," she said as she looked at him.

"No you're not," he said and she stopped and looked at him, "I'm not?" She asked and Ulysses shook his head as he walked over to her, taking her hand and leading her away from the bed. "No you're not, Sarah will make up the bed and straighten up the room," Ulysses said and Xena stopped walking causing Ulysses to stop walking and he turned and looked at her. "Who is Sarah?" She asked, "Sarah is the head maid in the palace, she's been here since before I was born. She tends to my parents chambers, my chambers and Camilla's chambers," Ulysses said and Xena let out a breath. "Ulysses I don't like others doing for me, what I can do for myself," she said and Ulysses let out a breath as he took Xena's other hand in his and looked into her eyes. "I hate to break it to you but you're gonna kind have to get use to it," he said.

"Xena I'm a prince," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "I know that," she said and Ulysses nodded. "You're marrying a Prince and one day you and I will be King and Queen, others will do for you what you can do for yourself, that's just how this life is." He said and Xena let out a breath, "I can't get use to that," Xena said after a moment and Ulysses looked at her. "No, you won't get use to it because you're so stubborn," he said as he looked into her eyes and Xena looked at him as she folded her arms across her chest. "So, as I recall last night, your father said you were stubborn as well," Xena shot back and Ulysses shook his head as he grinned at Xena. "Must you disagree and contradict everything I say?" He asked and Xena raised her eyebrow at him, "I wouldn't have to if you would just agree with me on some things," she said and Ulysses smiled at his future wife.

"Stop smiling at me," she said and Ulysses continued to smile and Xena couldn't help herself as she started grinning. "You make me sick sometimes," she said as she pushed him gently and Ulysses continued to smile as he took Xena's hands in his once again. "How about we meet half way?" Ulysses suggested and Xena looked at him, "I'm listening," she said. "Sometimes we'll let Sarah take care of the room and other times you can do it," Ulysses said and Xena thought about that and nodded. "Sounds okay," she said and Ulysses nodded. "Happy?" He asked and she grinned at him as she moved into his arms, "extremely," she said and Ulysses grinned at her. "Well then that's all that matters," he said then leaned down and kissed Xena softly but passionately.

When the kiss ended Ulysses looked at Xena who still had her eyes closed, "shall we get going?" Ulysses asked and Xena opened her eyes and grinned at him, "I guess so," she said and Ulysses chuckled as they began to leave the room. The moment they walked out side of the door, stepping into the hall, Gemini was there to great them. "Hi girl, have you been exploring?" Xena asked Gemini, "I want to check on Argo," Xena said to Ulysses as he locked the door, "okay," he said then placed the key in his pocket. "You've already seen the dinning hall so we'll start from there," Ulysses said to Xena as he took her hand and they walked down the hall and when they turned the corner they walked a bit more before they went down a flight of stairs. Ulysses showed Xena the kitchen or kitchens since the large room was divided since there was more than one stove.

"My lord," the cook said, "I'd bow but I'm cooking," she said and Ulysses grinned at the elderly woman who often enough times acted like a mother figure or rather a grandmother figure. "Xena this is Marina, the head cook, Marina this is Xena," Ulysses introduced them. "Yes, I heard you were the reason why I was cooking up a storm yesterday," she said and Xena smiled at the woman. "It's nice to meet you," Xena said and Marina sat the spoon down when she was finished stirring. "Come and let me have a look at you," Marina said and Xena grinned as she looked at Ulysses who grinned back and watched as Xena walked over to Marina. "Come on, turn…turn," she said as she motioned with her fingers and Xena continued to grin as she turned around in a circle so that Marina could get a look at her.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Marina said then looked into Xena's eyes, "much better than those skinny, brainless things he use to run around with," she told Xena who chuckled at the woman who reminded her a bit of her own mother. Ulysses cleared his throat and they turned and looked at him, "Marina you'll be happy to know that Xena does well in the kitchen," he said and Marina looked at Xena. "Is that so?" She asked and Xena grinned, "my mother owns an Inn and she insisted that I learned how to cook, so I did," Xena said and Marina nodded as she placed her hand on her hip. "Well, you'll just have to come and show me what you know and I'll determine if you know how to cook," she said and Xena grinned as she nodded, "I look forward to it." Xena said, "so can I take it I'll be fixing the wedding cake," Marina said and Xena grinned as she nodded and by then she was back by Ulysses.

"And when is this wedding?" Marina asked and Xena and Ulysses looked at each other, "we were thinking more of along the lines of a spring wedding," Xena said and Marina nodded. "Well Marina we have to go," Ulysses said as he opened the door, "always running Ulysses, you never slow down," she said and Xena chuckled at that then looked at Ulysses who sort of had a pout. "Oh, I like that you never slow down," Xena said as she caressed his cheek. "You guys stop by to see me again," Marina said as she went back to tending her pot, "we will," Ulysses said as they left then continued on their tour. Next he showed her the servant quarters, then the message room, he showed her all around the palace to where some of the noblemen stayed, where Camilla stayed and where his parents and Virgil stayed. "And this is my father's office," Ulysses said as he stopped and pointed to the door and they kept on going, "and where is your office?"

Xena asked, "I don't have an office," he said and Xena raised an eyebrow at that but stayed quiet as they continued to walk, she figured if he wanted to tell her why he didn't have an office, he would and he did. "I never really wanted one, I guess in my mind it would make the work my father had me doing more real, more permanent and I just wasn't ready for that yet," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "So where do you work?" She asked, "sometimes in my father's office when he isn't there or for that matter, when he is, Virgil's chambers, my chambers, the counsel room," he said then paused as they came to a corner, "which is there," he said as he pointed to his left down the hall. "Fourth door on your right," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "I'll show you some other things in the palace tomorrow, why don't we move outside of the palace," he suggested and that's what they did. Ulysses took Xena to the stables first, so that she could check on Argo and when she made sure the mare was more than fine, that she had been brushed, fed and given water then allowed to run around in a huge grass field with other horses.

"You like it here girl?" Xena asked Argo as she fed her a piece of apple and Argo neighed as she bobbed her head up and down. "It is beautiful here isn't it and you have company," Xena said as she stroked Argo's neck. "I told you she'd be well taken care of," Ulysses said as he walked up behind Xena, wrapping his arms around her. "I know," Xena said then grinned when Ulysses placed a kiss on her neck and she relaxed into his arm and let out a breath. "I hope it's like this forever," Ulysses said after he let out a breath of content and Xena grinned and was about to say something when they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. They both opened their eyes and turned their heads to see Camilla and a woman Xena didn't know but Ulysses knew all too well.

"Camilla, Victoria," Ulysses said _'oh so this is Victoria'_ Xena thought to herself as she looked her over and Victoria did the same. "What are you guys doing out here?" Ulysses asked, "we were getting ready to go for a ride," Camilla said, then looked at Xena. "Is she yours?" She asked Xena about Argo and Xena grinned at her, "yea, she is," Xena said as she rubbed Argo's neck, who neighed as she pushed into Xena who smiled. "She's a beautiful horse," Victoria said and Xena looked at her and nodded, "yes she is, she was a gift," Xena said as she looked at Ulysses who grinned at her. "I'm forgetting my manners," he said, "Xena this is Victoria, Victoria this is Xena," Ulysses introduced them to one another and for a minute all they did was size each other up even more so. "It's nice to meet you," Xena said as she looked at Victoria, who she had to admit was a beautiful woman.

"Ummph…Camilla are you ready to go?" Victoria asked, acknowledging Xena's statement in her own way, or not acknowledging it the way she looked at her then turned her head and Xena understood it all too well as she grinned and she looked down. "Yea," Camilla answered as she spared a glance at Victoria before she looked back at her brother and Xena. "I'll see you guys later," Camilla said and Ulysses nodded then watched his sister and Victoria walk away. "I don't think she likes me," Xena said to Ulysses who grinned at her. "Really? What gave you that clue?" He asked with sarcasm in his voice and Xena pushed him as she smiled. "Tell me something Ulysses," Xena said, "hmmm?" He answered waiting for her to ask her question, "I know you've slept with hundreds of women but tell me, will I be running into any more of your past disgruntled lovers?" Xena asked with a grin on her face and mischief in her eyes.

Ulysses stood there with a very shocked look on his face, "cat got your tongue?" Xena asked, her grin had now turned into a smile. "I can't believe you just said that," he said with a smile on his face. "I did not sleep with hundreds of women," he said and Xena raised her eyebrow at that, "I didn't," he said and Xena just looked at him. "How many then?" She asked and her hand was on her hip as she looked at Ulysses and he looked around and hunched his shoulders. "I don't know, not hundreds though," he said and Xena chuckled at him. "Ulysses my love, I know you've had your share of women, you don't have to hide the number from me," she said as she ran her hand over his cheek and he just looked down into her eyes.

"I didn't keep track Xena but I'd say over fifty but under a hundred," Ulysses said and Xena looked deep into his eyes. "And how many have you really cared for?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked deeply into her eyes as he answered her, "less than a handful but I've only truly loved one," he said as he placed his hand on her cheek and Xena grinned as she looked into his eyes. "And who would this one be?" She asked and Ulysses grinned as he pulled her closer then surprised her as he picked her up in his arms and Xena laughed at him as she wrapped her arm around his neck. "You and only you," he said before he spun around in a circle and when he stopped they just stared into each other's eyes before they leaned in for a kiss and this kiss was like all of the others, soft yet passionate.

Down at the next stable, Camilla and Victoria were preparing to get on their horses when they heard Xena's laughter and they turned their heads to see Ulysses holding Xena in his arms before he spun her around. They then watched as they leaned in for a kiss and after that, all Victoria could do was get onto the horse a ride far enough away, that she couldn't see or hear them and Camilla let out a breath and looked at her brother before she got onto her horse and rode off next to Victoria and they were silent for awhile as they rode. "Well the guy who painted the picture of her obviously painted what he saw," Victoria said and Camilla nodded then looked over at her friend. "Victoria I say this because you're my best friend and I think you need to hear this," Camilla said then let out a breath before she said what she had to say.

"My brother has moved on, he is about to get married and the best thing for you to do is to let this go, let him go and move on with your life, find some who will love you the way you deserve to be loved." Camilla said and Victoria let out a breath, "do you think we should ride over that way?" Victoria asked as if Camilla hadn't said what she just did, "did you hear me Victoria?" Camilla asked, "yes I heard you," Victoria said as their horses continued moving. "I've heard you, I've heard Ulysses, my mother and my father, I've heard everyone," she shouted then let out a breath as she shook her head and looked out at all the open land before them. In Victoria's mind it seemed as if no one really cared about her happiness, just about Ulysses' happiness, her parents were telling her to move on long before he came back to Ithaca with Xena.

She heard what everyone was telling her but she was listening to what her heart was telling her and what it was telling her was not to let go, not just yet. Through it all, she never felt alone because she had Camilla at her side comforting her but now she wasn't so sure, after all, her brother's happiness was more important than her friend's happiness. "Camilla I understand your position," Victoria said, "what position?" Camilla asked, confused as to what she was talking about. "Ulysses is your brother and naturally you want to see him happy, his happiness versus mine…well that's not really a hard choice to make. Is it?" Victoria said and Camilla just looked at her for a minute. "You're right, that's not a hard choice to make but you're more than a friend to me Victoria, you're like the sister I never had and I care about your happiness just as much as I care about Ulysses' happiness."

Camilla said and Victoria looked at her, "why do you think I'm telling you to let go? Because I can see that this isn't making you happy, if anything it's causing you a whole lot of pain and I'm tired of seeing you in pain and you should be tired of being in pain." Camilla said and Victoria nodded and let out a breath. "I am, I really am, no one said that being in love could hurt this much," she said then looked at Camilla. "Please try and understand Milla, I'm trying to let go, I see how happy Ulysses is and that there is no place for me in his life but for the moment my heart is still telling me to hold on. I don't know why, it just is and I'll continue to hold on until my heart can let go," Victoria said and Camilla let out a breath. "Victoria, sometimes listening to your heart can get you into a lot more trouble than you know what to do with. Sometimes you have to determine which to listen to, either your head or your heart and in this case you should use your head.

Thinking rationally, you have to see that you holding on to Ulysses won't do you any good, no matter what your heart says. Your head has to be telling you that this is not a good situation for you," Camilla said and Victoria just sat there on the horse and by then they had stopped moving. "I know that this may not be making any sense to you but I just need you to be by my side and help me," Victoria said and Camilla looked into her friend's eyes and wanted to say so much more but she knew Victoria wouldn't hear any of it. The only thing she was listening to was her heart and until she decided to listen to what her head was telling her, nothing could be done, all Camilla could do was be there by her friend's side and help her. "Alright Victoria, as I said, you are my best friend, my sister, so I'll be here to help you," Camilla said and Victoria grinned at her friend.

"Why don't we go and take that ride," Victoria said with a smile and Camilla grinned and they went for their ride. Xena and Ulysses left from the stables and for the rest of the day Ulysses continued to show Xena around and introduced her to people that he considered friends. They had lunch along the way, relaxing and enjoying each other's company before they continued on their tour until dinner time came and they had dinner with Ulysses' parents, his sister, Virgil and his parents. "So Xena, have you and Ulysses decided on a date for the wedding?" Virgil's mother, Clarisse asked and Xena grinned as she picked up her glass of wine. "We have, we've decided on a spring wedding, a month after winter," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he chewed on some meat. "A great time for a wedding and an even greater time for a honeymoon," he said and she pushed his arm as she grinned at him, "what?" He asked as he hunched his shoulders and went back to eating.

"A lot like you," Marguerite whispered to Julian who grinned then cleared his throat. "Well that gives us just enough time," Julian said as he continued eating as well. "Enough time for what?" Ulysses asked with suspicion in his eyes and voice, "Ulysses there are…procedures that you and Xena, mostly Xena, have to go through before you and she can be married." Julian said, "what kind of procedures?" Ulysses asked again, "Ulysses must you be so suspicious about things?" Julian asked his son, "well if I am I get it from you," he said. "You don't get everything from me, maybe you got that from your mother," Julian said and Marguerite looked at her husband then shook her head. "Ulysses its nothing to worry about, your father and I had to go through the same things, it's just for records sake, none of its going to cause any pain or distress."

Marguerite assured her son and Ulysses and Xena both nodded, "well that's a relief," Xena said as she went back to eating. "And for the record, that suspicious thing you have going on, you get from your father. I don't know what you get from me, you're just like a younger version of him," Marguerite said and Xena grinned while Ulysses chuckled and Julian looked at his wife. "Oh…so now I'm old," Julian said and Marguerite grinned at her husband, "of course dear but I see you're not denying the suspicion thing," she said and Julian shook his hand at his wife. "Let's get back to me being old," Julian said and everyone at the table just laughed. "Julian, my love, you are older than you used to be, as am I," Marguerite said and Julian nodded as he picked up his glass.

"I obviously was old this morning when you and I were rolling around…" Julian began but Marguerite quickly placed her hand over his mouth while Ulysses and Camilla turned their faces up at that. "Eewww…dad," Camilla said, "that was entirely too much information," Ulysses said and Xena just grinned as she nodded. "Just proving a point," Julian said, "point proven," Marguerite, Ulysses and Camilla said at the same time and they laughed at each other. "I don't know why you guys are grossed out about your mother and I having sex, it is how you got here after all," Julian said. "Yea, but we don't need to here about it," Camilla said and Ulysses nodded. "I'm beginning to loose my appetite, can we please change the subject?" Ulysses asked and Julian just shrugged his shoulders, not caring either way if the subject was changed or not.

When dinner was over, Xena and Ulysses headed back to Ulysses' chambers, Xena holding onto Ulysses' arm as they walked. "Did your mom ever talk like that around you?" Ulysses asked Xena who grinned as she shook her head, "no, she and my father didn't really get along too well and then when she and Corrinna got together, they kept their relationship a secret because it would most likely be unwelcome in Amphipolis." Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "well be grateful," he said, "come on Ulysses, its not that bad," she said then laughed at his expression. "Not that bad? My father was sitting at the dinner table talking about the sex he and my mother had this morning. How bad would you like it to get? Its just gross thinking about it, let alone hearing the things, the sexual things, my parents do…its…uuhhhh," he said as he shook his head and Xena couldn't stop herself from bursting with laughter at Ulysses' expressions, his words and his whole demeanor when he talked about the situation.

Ulysses smiled as he listened to Xena's laughter and he thought if that was all he heard for the rest of his life than he would be alright, and he knew with laughter like that than she would be alright too. "You know…" Ulysses began as they continued walking towards his room, "we're about to be married and I still don't know much about your father," Ulysses said as he looked at Xena and her smile turned into a small grin. "I don't like talking about him or what happened," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "I understand that, I just want you to know that I'm here when you want to talk about it," Ulysses said and Xena nodded and they were quiet on their way back to the room and when they were there Gemini greeted them. Once in the room they both got ready for bed and Xena sat on the bed and looked at Ulysses as he stood at his desk.

After a minute Xena stood and walked over to Ulysses, she stood behind him and softly ran her hands over his muscled back. She did that for a minute before she stepped closer to him, then leaned in and placed a kiss on his back then wrapped her arm around his shoulder as she placed her chin on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "for what?" Ulysses asked as he stood there and looked over a small map, "for not telling you about my father…it's just a really touchy subject for me," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "I understand," he said and they were silent for a minute more, "Ulysses look at me," Xena said and Ulysses turned around in Xena's arms with the small map still in his hands and he was looking down at it.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, "I was thinking we could sail somewhere around here for our honeymoon," he said and Xena looked at him then chuckled as she took the map from him, placing it on the desk. "Hey I was looking at that," he said and Xena just looked into his eyes as she placed her arms on his shoulders while she softly ran her fingers through his hair. "What am I going to do with you?" She asked and he grinned as he looked into her eyes, "anything you want," he said and Xena grinned as they leaned in for a kiss. The kiss started off soft and then it progressed to a very passionate kiss. "Mmmm," Xena moaned as she pulled herself closer while the kiss deepened if that was possible.

"Ummm," Ulysses moaned as the kiss was brought down to a passionate tasting of lips and as they tasted each other's lips he began to pull the straps to her shift down and Xena pulled her arms out of the shift, letting it fall to the floor. "Mmmm," they both moaned as Ulysses ran his hands over Xena's soft, silky skin. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes as Ulysses continued to caress Xena's skin and she caressed his cheek. As they looked into each other's eyes, their eyes said what they didn't have say with their mouths and Xena turned her head slightly and looked at the bed then back at Ulysses who looked at her. "Gods you are so beautiful," he said as he shook his head while reaching his hand out to caress her cheek. "I want you tonight," Xena said and Ulysses just looked into her eyes as he answered her without hesitation, "then you shall have me," he said.

"I know we discussed this earlier but of those women you had, how many did you have here in your room, in your bed?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked into her eyes, not really having to speak a number and she grinned at him as she caressed his chest. "It's alright, I kind of figured…" she said then stopped as she let out a breath and looked down. "Your past is your past but I don't want to start out future off with your past," Xena said as she looked into his eyes, "you don't want to make love in my bed," he said and Xena grinned at him. "I just don't want to start off our life, our marriage with your past lovers sort of keeping us company," Xena said with a grin and Ulysses grinned at her and nodded. "Understood," he said and before Xena could say anything else Ulysses leaned in and kissed her passionately as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Mmmm," Xena moaned as she ran her finger's through his hair and she moaned again as he swooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed. He softly placed Xena in the bed, rid himself of his clothes then got into the bed, laying slightly on top of Xena and on the side. They laid there for a while just kissing and caressing each other and that eventually led to other things but they took their time as they explored each other's bodies. An hour later, Ulysses was between Xena's legs thrusting deeply into her as they shared a passionate kiss. Their bodies were covered in sweat, the sheet clinging to their bodies. "Ha…unnnghh," Xena moaned as she ran her hand over his neck then down to his chest and Ulysses' moans were smothered by Xena's flesh as he kissed, sucked and nibbled on her neck slowly moving his way down.

As he kissed her neck he caressed her thigh pulling her legs tighter around him. Xena ran her hand over Ulysses' arm and then his chest before she pulled him down for another kiss. "Unnngh…un…unnn…unnnngh," Ulysses moaned when the kiss ended. Ulysses continued to thrust deeper and harder into Xena as they looked into each other's eyes, while his hands gripped the sheets. Xena's moans were now whimpers as she caressed his sweaty back, pulling him closer to him. "Mmmm…unnnnn," Xena whimpered as she looked into Ulysses' eyes, "does that feel good?" Ulysses moaned out then leaned down and kissed on Xena's neck, "yea," Xena moaned and her eyes and mouth opened wide and she felt so much pleasure run through her body.

"Ulysses…ohh…unnnghhh Ulysses," Xena moaned as her nails ran over his back leaving four faint scratches while her other hand pulled at the sheet. Twenty minutes later Ulysses thrust deep and hard one last time into Xena as the last of their tremors from their releases ran through their bodies, "uuhhhh," Ulysses moaned with his head tilted back. They were both breathing hard, Xena moaned from some of the after shocks ran through her body. Ulysses was still breathing hard as he looked down at Xena. He leaned down and inhaled her scent, still able to smell it through the smell of sex and sweat. "Gods I love you," Ulysses moaned before he placed a kiss on Xena's check and Xena just closed her eyes and hugged Ulysses, "I love you too," she said. After a couple of minutes Ulysses rose up and let out a breath, "that was amazing," he said and Xena grinned as she ran her hands over his chest.

"Yes it was," she said then rose up and placed a couple of kisses on his chest. Ulysses luxuriated in the feeling of her kisses as if they were touching his soul, he then leaned down and kissed Xena softly but passionately as they tasted each other's lips, he softly gripped her hair, gently pulling him to her. When the kiss ended they brushed their lips against each other, "I'll get us something to drink," he said and Xena grinned and nodded, then leaned in and softly tasted Ulysses' lips once more before he got off of the bed and she grabbed the sheet, holding it up to her chest. "I'm hungry too," he said as he put his robe on and Xena grinned at him. "I'll send for some fruit," he said and Xena just watched as he moved around the room and to her, his every move was a precious step. Like he said he would do, he sent for some food, then poured he and Xena a glass of wine.

It didn't take long for the food to be brought to the room and Ulysses brought the tray to the bed where they ate. "I definitely worked up an appetite," Ulysses said and Xena chuckled as she ate a strawberry. The night passed on fairly quickly but they made love once more that night before they went to bed. The sun wasn't even up when there was a knock at the door, a knock that turned into a constant knocking. Ulysses groaned as he raised his head and looked at the window where there was no sun shining through the curtains. He searched on his nightstand for something, knocking things down in the process, then let out a breath as he raised his head before he sat up and Xena moaned as she moved away some. The persistent knocking continued as Ulysses got out of bed, looking around the dark room for his pants or his robe and he found neither.

He grabbed one of the sheets from the bed that he and Xena hadn't been using then headed into the sitting room, "shit," he cursed as he ran into a small table on his way to the door. "Alright, alright already," Ulysses said as he unlocked the door and opened it to find his mother, Virgil's mother and Sarah on the other side. "What in the name of Zeus are you doing knocking on the door so much and at this early hour?" Ulysses asked as he stuck his head out of the door, "its two hours before sunrise, you should be up," Marguerite said as she pushed her way into the room and Ulysses let out a breath as he closed the door behind them. "I'm not up because its two hours before sunrise," he said then let out a breath as he tightened the sheet around his waist. "Don't you have a robe?" Clarisse asked Ulysses who looked at her, "I'm in my room, what does it matter if I have a robe or not?" He asked then let out a frustrated breath, "what do you guys want?"

He asked in a sort of whinny voice and his mother looked at him, "we need to see Xena, is she up?" Marguerite asked and Ulysses looked at her, "haven't you been listening? It's too early for anyone to be up," Ulysses said. "She's in the bedroom I take it?" Clarisse asked and Ulysses just rolled his eyes and headed into the bedroom, turning up lanterns on his way there so he and the others could see. When they got to the room, Xena was in the bed semi asleep, with the sheet covering all her important part. "Xena," Ulysses called, "hmmm?" Xena answered, "my mother wants to see you," he said as he laid down in the bed on his stomach and Xena moaned as she pulled the sheet tighter to her body. "It's too early, it's not even light out," Xena mumbled. "That's what I said," Ulysses said as he got comfortable, "you both ought to be use to it," Marguerite said startling Xena into an upright position and she held the sheet to her chest.

"What in the…" Xena began as she looked at the women in the room. "We need to borrow you," Clarisse said and Xena looked at her. "For what?" She asked, "it's a woman thing that involves preparing for your marriage," Sarah said and Xena looked at them then down at Ulysses who was dosing back off. "Ulysses," Xena called and he opened his eyes and looked at her. "There's nothing I can do, she's my mother," he said and Xena let out a breath as she fell back on the bed. "Come on, get up and get dressed, we have a lot to do today," Marguerite said and Xena let out a breath then pushed Ulysses. "You get up too," Xena said and Ulysses groaned, "Xe…I'm tired," he moaned, "and I'm not?" She asked and he let out a breath as he sat up in the bed then stood with the sheet still wrapped around his waist.

"Can you guys leave so I can put on my pants?" Ulysses asked, since he spotted his pants near by. "We don't trust you guys not to fall back to sleep," Clarisse said and Ulysses looked at them then let out a breath. "Fine," he said then let the sheet fall and grabbed his pants and put them on. Clarisse and Sarah averted their eyes, while Marguerite shook her head at her son and Xena grinned at Ulysses. "Does decency mean anything to you?" His mother asked and Ulysses looked at her, "does privacy mean anything to you?" He shot back and she looked at him with stern eyes and Xena took that moment to grab her robe and put it on before she headed to the bath chamber to relieve herself then get cleaned up before she headed back to the room and got dressed. "Can I at least have breakfast?" Xena asked Marguerite who looked over her body or more precisely, what she was wearing, which was a pair of leather pants and shirt.

"Is that all you have to wear?" Marguerite asked and Xena hunched her shoulders in a nonchalant way, "it's either this or a tunic and I feel comfortable in this," she said and Marguerite nodded. "Put on the list Sarah that we need to have Denise come and see Xena," Marguerite said and Sarah nodded as she pulled out a parchment and went over to the desk and used ink and quill to right down what Marguerite just said. "Who's Denise?" Xena asked, "she's a seamstress," Ulysses said as he walked into the room and over to Xena, looking at what she was wearing. "What?" Xena asked him, noticing his intent stare, "turn around," he said and Xena looked at him for a moment then turned around and he looked down at her butt.

"Though I don't see anything wrong with what you're wearing," he said and Xena grinned because she could hear the change in his voice that said he liked what he saw and he wanted what he saw. Xena turned around and looked at Ulysses who was too busy running his eyes over Xena's body and he didn't stop until he felt her eyes on him. They looked into each other's eyes, both grinning and Ulysses' grin turned into a smile because Xena knew him so well. "Excuse me for a moment ladies," Xena said and before they could say anything she closed the gap between she and Ulysses and ran her hands over his chest as she looked into his eyes before she leaned in and kissed him. "Mmmmm," Ulysses moaned as he placed his hands on Xena's back and pulled her closer as they passionately tasted each other's lips. Marguerite and the other's watched the scene before them, Marguerite watched as Xena placed her hand on Ulysses' cheek and she pushed more into him and tasted more of his lips.

Ulysses couldn't help his hands as they traveled down to her butt and he moaned as he squeezed the flesh and pulled her closer. "Oh my," Clarisse said as she saw Ulysses squeeze Xena's butt again and then the kiss was brought down until it was a soft tasting of lips. When the kiss ended they were both a little breathless, Ulysses more than Xena and she grinned at him as she looked into his eyes while caressing his cheek. "You're an evil woman," he said and Xena grinned at him then turned and looked at his mother. "Breakfast?" Xena asked, "there'll be breakfast where we're going," Marguerite said. "And where exactly are you going?" Ulysses asked as he sat down on the bed, "no where that concerns you," Clarisse said and Ulysses looked at them. "Fine, go do your woman thing but if I have to come and look for you guys, there's going to be tartarus to pay," he said and his mother look at him with a tolerant grin.

"Ulysses you know you're not too old for me to put across me knee," she said and Xena sniggered at that. "What I do?" He asked, "your father doesn't come looking for me at times like these, so you'll do well to follow his example," she said and Ulysses was about to say something when she held up her hand. "Not another word," she said, "let's go," she said to Xena then looked back at Ulysses who opened his mouth to say something. "I said, not another word," his mother said before she turned and left the room with the others and Xena looked at Ulysses who was pouting and she grinned at him. "My poor baby," Xena said as she caressed his cheek. "I didn't do anything," he said as he continued to pout and Xena smiled at him. "I know," she said then leaned down and kissed him softly. "Try not to worry, I'll be fine," she said then leaned down and gave him another kiss.

"I'll see you later," Xena said and Ulysses nodded and rose up for another kiss and Xena smiled as she leaned in and kissed him softly one last time before she left the room and went with his mother. "Where are we going?" Xena asked her soon to be mother-in-law, "well Xena, from this time until the time you are married, we're going to show you what this life is all about, the ups and the downs." Marguerite said, "the good and bad places as well as things to do and not do," Sarah said and Xena listened to them. "The good men, bad men and men who are just dogs as well as the good women and bitches," Clarisse said and Xena grinned at that. "So basically you're going to show me the ins and outs of things," Xena said and Marguerite nodded. "Think of it as more of an initiation process, to welcome you into the family and to the world of nobility, ruling a kingdom and helping to rule a kingdom," she said and Xena nodded.

"Well, I'm ready for whatever you guys are going to throw at me," Xena said and Marguerite grinned as she looked at Clarisse who grinned at that. They didn't leave the palace but headed to part of the palace Ulysses hadn't shown Xena yet, "this is the noble's wing, the nobles who have decided they don't want to live out side of the palace, live within it. Julian has a good heart, not many Kings would allow those below him to live with him," Marguerite said and Xena nodded. "They have certain rules and regulations they have to follow, we'll get to that since there are a lot of rules you have to learn before you get married," she said and Xena nodded as she listened to them. They walked a while down a long hall until they came to a door at the end, where of course guards stood there. "Now Xena I want to warn you before we go in here, its just women in here and quite a bit of them can be cut throat, nosey," Marguerite said, "and just plain old bitches," Clarisse said and Xena grinned as she looked at her.

"You like that word huh?" Xena asked, "I'm just calling it for what it is, these women can be ruthless and they'll try to make you feel like you don't belong here," Clarisse said. "Oh will they try," Marguerite kicked in, "they're going to try and put you in your place, don't let them belittle you. You're just as good as them if not better, you would have to be for Ulysses to want to marry you," Clarisse said and Xena grinned at her. "Thanks and I can handle them," she said, nodding towards the door and they looked at her for a minute before they nodded to the guard to open the door and they walked in. As they walked further into the room it looked like a huge harem, with pillows, furs and blankets lining the floor with a couple of small tables off to the side with chairs, candles were lit around the room as well as a fire place and there were women sitting everywhere.

"Marguerite, we weren't sure if you and Clarisse would be joining us this morning," a blond woman said and they walked over to the table this woman was sitting at. "Were you missing us Marissa?" Marguerite asked as she sat down and Xena sat down next to her. "Of course," Marissa said with a grin then looked at Xena. "So, this is Ulysses' betrothed," she said and by then many of the woman were listening in on their conversation. "Xena correct?" Marissa asked and Xena nodded, "I'm Marissa, my husband is Nathan," she said and Xena nodded. "It's nice to meet you," Xena said, "likewise," Marissa said. From then on they sat there and some fruit and cheese were brought out to them and Xena listened to multiple conversations that was going on around the room, that special gift has been a part of her training, Athena always wanted Xena to be aware of all that was going on around her, especially what was being said and most importantly, what was being done.

When their breakfast was finished, that's when things really started to kick off. "So Xena, we're all dying to know, what's Ulysses like in bed?" One of the younger women asked, "if you don't mind me asking," she said and Xena grinned at her. "Stephanie, isn't it?" Xena asked and the woman nodded. "That's interesting, I know Ulysses has been with his share of women but the fact that he hasn't been with many of you or any of you for that matter, poses some questions," Xena said and they looked at her, not expecting that statement. "No I don't mind at all, to answer your question, Ulysses is great in bed, he makes me feel things you wouldn't have thought possible for a man to make a woman feel," she said and there were whispers around the room after that. Many didn't ask Xena more questions after that but she quietly sat there and watched and listened to them all, trying to see and come to a decision about what kind of person, people they were.

"Marguerite, a group of us are going out to the market, to browse a couple of stands and stores, would you, Xena and Clarisse like to tag along?" Marissa asked and Marguerite looked at Xena who hunched her shoulders, saying she didn't care either way, so Marguerite nodded. Forty-five minutes later they were leaving the room and then the palace. When they were outside, carriages waited for them as well as guards to escort them to the market. They got in and were on their way, once they were at the market, the guards set up a perimeter so that they could keep an eye on the women without really hounding their every step. Xena looked around and she was fascinated by the many and different things she saw. A couple of the woman dragged Xena way from Marguerite and Clarisse and they took her over to a stand that held jewelry.

Xena looked over to where they was an outside Inn, where people drinked and ate a little outside. Xena saw a group of women who looked like they were working girls and when she heard Ulysses' name cross their lips, she gently eased over to them until she was at a stall that was close enough so she could listen. "You've heard Ulysses is getting married," one woman said, "yea and to a commoner," another said. "Just think, if we would have played our cards right, that could have been one of us," another said. "Oh get off it Sam, that man doesn't want any of us and why should he, we're whores," another said, she was hard, Xena could tell by looking into her eyes and it was obvious that she held no illusions as to what she was. "Courtesans, we're courtesans Angel," a woman said and Angel rolled her eyes at that.

"Courtesans, whores, working girls, it all means the same, we sleep with men and women for money," she said then picked up her cup and took a sip of its contents. "Still, it probably won't work out between them, no one is willing to do some of the things we did with Ulysses," Sam said and from that moment on Xena had to know what they were talking about, so she went over to their table. "Excuse me," she said and they looked at her, "you looking for a good time sweetheart?" One of the women asked and Xena shook her head, "far from it," she said then looked at all of them. "My name is Xena," she said and that was enough to say because it seemed that in the couple of days she was here, her name has spread like wild fire through the kingdom of Ithaca. "Well, well, this is Ulysses' little woman," Angel said and Xena raised an eyebrow at that, "little, I think not," Xena said and Angel looked at her.

"Have a seat," she said and Xena sat down at the table, "I over heard you speaking, when I was over there," Xena said and Angel hunched her shoulders as she took a sip of her drink. "So," she said, "so, I want to know those things you think no other woman would do with Ulysses," Xena said and Angel grinned at her as she sat forward. "He hasn't let you in to that part of himself yet," Angel said with a grin, "don't take offense to it, men often show sides to us that they're afraid to show to their wives." Angel said and Xena looked around for a minute before she looked at Angel with determination in her eyes and Angel chuckled at her. "You don't have the guts to do some of the things we did," Angel said, "let me determine that," Xena said and Angel looked at her. "You've got guts, I'll tell you that," she said then let out a breath.

"You're Ulysses' woman so when you've been with him, he's been gentle with you, making love to you and never really taking you beyond the bedroom, or places where you knew you had privacy." Angel said and Xena listened to her, "so what?" Xena asked, "so, men like Ulysses like adventure in that department," Demi said. "Can you go up to Ulysses and have the nerve to start something with him in a place you know you could get caught?" Angel asked, "can you bare yourself to him and let him see into your soul, let him claim it and do what he will?" Angel asked and Xena looked around and Angel grabbed her chin so that they were looking eye to eye. "Can you let him fuck you? There's a difference you know, between making love and fucking," Angel said then released Xena's chin as she continued to look into her eyes.

"Would you let him share you with another? Both there taking you and claiming you, until you actually feel like as slut," Angel said. "Ulysses would never…" Xena began and Angel grinned as she leaned back in the chair. "Like Sam said, most women aren't willing to do the things we've done with Ulysses," Angel said and Xena looked at her then at all of them before she stood and left. Angel watched her walk away and looked over her body as she moved, "she's beautiful," Angel said then hunched her shoulders and they went back to their previous conversation before the one about Ulysses. Xena made her way back over to Marguerite and she grinned at them so that they wouldn't see that she had something on her mind, something that was bothering her. An hour later when they left the market and made it back to the palace, Xena excused herself then set out to find Ulysses.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Ulysses took a shower then dressed in his normal clothes and headed to find his father, not surprised when he found him in his office. "Dad," Ulysses said as he sat down in the chair in front of his father's desk, "you're whining Ulysses, what's wrong?" Julian asked his son, not looking at him as he continued to look down at a scroll and Ulysses was use to talking to his father while he was working. "Mom, Clarisse and Sarah kidnapped Xena," Ulysses said and Julian looked up at his son then shook his head. "You can be so dramatic some times and I know you didn't get that from me, maybe you got it from your grandmother," Julian said as he looked back down at the scroll. "Dad," Ulysses whined once more and Julian let out a breath, "Ulysses relax huh, I'm sure your mother is going to bring Xena back safe and unharmed but more enlightened as to what she's getting into."

Julian said, "what do you mean by that?" Ulysses asked and Julian let out a breath, "anytime someone around this palace gets married, Marguerite and Clarisse disappear with a bunch of other women, doing only gods know what. But I think they're preparing them for the life ahead of them, a life of attention, ruling, responsibility, nobility, respect and honor," Julian said and Ulysses sat there and thought about that as his father went back to work and Ulysses continued to sit there thinking about things. _'Those women gossip like crazy'_ Ulysses thought to himself, _'what if Xena hears something about me, about me being with another woman?'_ Ulysses questioned to himself then let out a breath as he ran his hands over his face. "Dad what were you like when you were my age?" Ulysses asked, "Ulysses can't you see I'm working here, ask me that later," Julian said.

"Dad, I'm serious. We're you anything like I am now? Were you wild and did you like to chase women?" Ulysses asked and Julian looked at his son, "what man doesn't like to chase women?" Julian asked then let out a breath as he leaned back in his chair and looked at his son. "No Ulysses, I wasn't like you are now or were," Julian said. "You seem to have this lust for life and an even greater lust for women," Julian said and Ulysses hunched his shoulders. "You said it yourself, what man doesn't lust and chase after women," Ulysses said and Julian shook his head. "Its different when it comes to you, I've seen you night after night, you had a different woman or sometimes you didn't come home and I knew what you were doing." Julian said and Ulysses looked down at his hands and his fingers twiddled amongst themselves.

"I'm King Ulysses, I pride myself in knowing what goes on in my kingdom and in others. Do you honestly think I didn't know what went on with my own son?" Julian asked his son and Ulysses shook his head as he thought about a couple of things. "You and Virgil were always a team," Julian said and Ulysses looked up at that, surprised at those words. "You shared everything, even women," Julian said and Ulysses let out a breath as he stood. "Tell me, have you shared…" Julian started to ask but Ulysses cut him off. "No, Xena means too much to me and she is mine, no one else has had her and no one else will have her," Ulysses said and Julian looked at his son, watching as Ulysses paced for a minute as he rubbed his temple. "That's only making what you feel, what you're craving for, stronger," Julian said and Ulysses let out a breath as he stopped moving.

"Ulysses listen to me," Julian said and Ulysses turned and looked at his father. "There's a part of yourself that you've hidden from Xena, a part you don't want her to know yet but you can't go into a marriage like that." Julian said and Ulysses let out a breath as he thought about that, "we're going to have to, I'm not ready for her to know it yet," Ulysses said then turned and headed for the door. "Whether you're ready or not, you've chosen her to be your partner for life, she has a right to know," Julian said and Ulysses didn't turn around as his father spoke to him but when he was finished he didn't say anything and just left the office.

She was walking the halls when she ran into Virgil and she stopped him, "Virgil are you busy?" Xena asked, "not really," he said as he looked at her. "Why?" He asked and Xena let out a breath as she pulled Virgil into a nearby corner and he looked at her, wondering what the strange behavior was all about. "You're my friend right?" She asked, "yea," he said as he looked at her, "and you'll tell me the truth when I ask you a question, no matter what the question or the answer?" Xena asked and Virgil looked at her, "Xena what is going on?" He asked and she let out a breath, "I went to the market with your mother, Ulysses' mother and a bunch of other women," Xena said. "And I ran into some women who had known Ulysses intimately and they said that there would be no one who would be able to do the things Ulysses did with them," she said and Virgil cleared his throat as he looked around.

"I think this is something you should be talking to Ulysses about," Virgil said and he was about to leave when Xena grabbed his arm and she looked into his eyes. "You know what I'm about to ask you," she said and Virgil looked at her then looked down for a minute. "Xena, Ulysses was a different man then," Virgil said and Xena shook her head. "That part of him is still there, I know because I've caught a glance of it but I don't understand why he hides it from me. I want to know him, all of him," Xena said and Virgil shook his head, "no you don't," he said. "I do," Xena said in returned and Virgil looked at her, "Ulysses is…" Virgil said as he searched for a word, "he's a complicated guy," Virgil said after a minute. "But you know him inside and out," Xena said to Virgil, "what do you want to hear Xena? That Ulysses and I shared women, because we did. We took them and took them until they were begging for more," Virgil said and Xena looked into his eyes knowing that he was telling the truth.

Virgil all of a sudden placed his hands on Xena's cheeks as he looked into her eyes, "you're a gentle woman Xena and you may have to face that fact that you can't handle that part of him, few can." Virgil said and Xena just looked into his eyes, "you're wrong, I am his other half, I can handle anything," she said and Virgil nodded as he removed his hands and placed them on the wall in front of him, pushing Xena against the wall, until their bodies were pressed against each other. She cleared her throat and looked away from him, "look at me," Virgil said and Xena looked him dead in his eyes. "If Ulysses came to you tonight and said he wanted me to join him and take you, he wanted me to have you, take you and taste you. What would you say?" Virgil asked and Xena looked into his eyes and swallowed hard as she thought about it, "if it was something he really wanted," Xena said and Virgil nodded as he looked at Xena, still waiting for an answer.

"I could do it," Xena said with determination in her eyes and Virgil looked into her eyes then surprised her as he leaned forward and claimed her lips in a passionate tasting of lips. Xena froze for a moment, this felt so wrong but then she thought it through, Virgil was probably testing her to see if she really meant what she said. So meaning what she said she returned the kiss and they shared a passionate tasting of lips, Xena running her fingers through Virgil's hair while he ran his hand up her side. "Mmmm," he moaned when the kiss ended then looked at Xena who was breathless, "we'll see," he said then walked away leaving Xena standing there in stunned silence. "Ulysses is in the private room of the archives, the archives room is down the hall, make a left and the double doors in the middle," Virgil said as he turned and looked at Xena and she looked at him and nodded. She stood there for a couple of minutes trying to gather herself and her thoughts before she headed to the archives.

She found her way there just fine but finding the private room in the archives was another thing. She looked around what looked like endless rows of scroll cases and shelves of the room. "May I help you my lady?" A voice called and Xena turned around to see a medium height man with blond curly hair standing before her. "Yes, what's your name?" She asked, "Tannis, my lady," he said with a grin and Xena grinned back. "Well Tannis, I'm Xena, it's nice to meet you," she said as she held out her hand and his grin turned into a smile as he shook her head. "It's nice to meet you as well my lady," he said. "Please call me Xena," she said and Tannis nodded, "I'm looking for Ulysses," Xena said, "the Prince is in the private archives," he said then moved to the side. "Just down this aisle and to your right," he said and Xena grinned at him.

"Thank you," she said and he nodded and watched Xena walk away before he went back to what he was doing. When Xena reached the room she tried to open the door but it was locked, so she knocked on it. A minute later Ulysses opened the door and he looked at her surprised to see her, "hey," he said and Xena grinned at him. "Hey, yourself, I heard you where in here," she said and he nodded as he let into the room and closed the door. "Why did you lock the door?" Xena asked as she looked around, "I didn't, this is the private archives, only a few are allowed in here and you have to have a key because when the door closes it locks itself," Ulysses said and Xena nodded then looked at Ulysses who looked at her. Xena walked over to Ulysses and he didn't even have time to think about anything as she leaned in and kissed him passionately, pushing him against the door. "Mmmm," he moaned as he ran his fingers through Xena's hair and returned the kiss.

A couple of minutes later when the kiss ended they were both breathless and Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as she quickly began to undo his belt. "What…what are you doing?" He asked as he looked at Xena, "what does it look like I'm doing?" She asked as she dropped his belt to the floor and unbuttoned his pants. "Um…I know what you're doing…but…but we shouldn't be doing it here," Ulysses stammered as Xena pulled his pants down and before he could say anything else she was on her knees and his member was in her mouth. "Shit," Ulysses said then hissed and looked down at Xena as she sucked him deep into her mouth and it took him less than a second to become fully erect. He looked around the room trying to reign in his passion, his lust and craving that was wriggling its way free. "Xe…awww," Ulysses moaned then closed his eyes for a minute. "Xena…we…we need to stop," he stammered and Xena only sucked him deeper and harder. Ulysses bent over a little in pleasure, "ssss…shit…Unnnn," he moaned as he looked down at Xena who looked so beautiful as she sucked on his big, hard cock.

With that thought, every last bit of restraint he had was gone and he let Xena pleasure him. She could feel the change in him and she looked up at him as he moaned while he ran his fingers through her hair. Whatever fear Xena had was gone when she saw that he did want this even though he was trying to fight it. She stood and quickly rid herself of all her clothes and Ulysses stroked his cock while he watched her and that was after he had gotten totally naked himself. Xena had gotten back on her knees and took Ulysses' cock in her hand and began to suck on it again, "Uhhhh…yea," Ulysses moaned as he moved some of Xena's hair to the side, watching her as she pleasured him. Ten minutes later Ulysses was still leaning against the door and he continued to moan as Xena sucked him deep and hard, while running her tongue over his huge muscle.

After a minute Ulysses held Xena's head still and he fucked her mouth hard and fast, Xena moaned as she held onto Ulysses' butt and tightened her mouth. "Unnn…unn…your mouth feels so good," Ulysses moaned as he looked down at Xena and she looked up at him, she looked into his eyes and could see the lust, passion, pleasure and excitement in his eyes at what she was doing to him. After a couple of minutes he pulled himself out of Xena's mouth and ran his head across her lips, some of his pre cum sliding out. Xena licked his head and moaned as she tasted his pre cum and she sucked on his head, seeing if she could get more while she stroked him. "You like that huh?" He asked as he grinned and moaned while watching Xena who was trying to get more of what she wanted. She sucked him deep into her mouth, until she was gagging and Ulysses moaned loudly, "mmmm…ssss…easy…easy," he said as he pulled her head back while stroking himself. Xena looked at his huge cock with hungry eyes and that ignited a huge fire within Ulysses.

"Stand up," he said and Xena stood and move close to him and they shared a passionate kiss, since they were both naked there was no barrier between her body and his. As they kissed Ulysses turned Xena around so that she was the one against the door. He ended the kiss and ran his hand over her body as he looked into her eyes. His hand went straight down to her center where he ran his fingers between her lips, "Unnnn," Xena moaned as she looked at him. "Ssss…you're so silky and…ummm….you're so wet," he moaned in her ear as he continued to stroke her while going down to her opening. He looked into her eyes and without warning pushed a finger into her and rubbed her walls, "Unnngh…unnngh," Xena moaned as she rubbed Ulysses' chest then they leaned in for another kiss.

When the kiss ended Ulysses pulled his finger out and brought it up to his mouth and sucked once on it before he brought it up to Xena's lips and looked into her eyes and he didn't have to say what he wanted because she could see it in his eyes. So Xena took his finger into her mouth and sucked on it, tasting her tangy yet sweet essence. Ulysses grinned as he watched Xena before he removed his finger then leaned in and kissed her, "good isn't it?" He asked when the kiss ended and Xena nodded as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair. When the kiss ended Xena placed her hands on Ulysses' shoulders, pushing him down and he grinned at he lowered kissed his way down until he was on his knees, his head leveled with Xena's stomach. He dipped his head down further between her legs and stuck his tongue out where he tasted the outside of her lips. "I just want to warn you that these walls are kind of thin in here, so I wouldn't be too loud if I were you," he whispered to her and Xena nodded and pushed his head back down and Ulysses grinned as he went back to his delightful task.

"Ummm…Unnngh," Xena moaned as she licked her lips and ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair. Ulysses used two fingers to hold Xena open then dove in like she was a buffet. "Mmmm," He moaned as her juices ran down his chin while he sucked on Xena's clit and she was trying hard to be quiet but it was next to impossible with Ulysses doing the things he was doing with his tongue. He sucked all over and his moans of enjoyment sent vibrations through Xena's body, "you taste so good," he said as he pulled back and ran his finger through her vulva before he leaned in and sucked on it. Xena's mouth opened wide as she grabbed Ulysses' head tightly, while her legs began to shake and he rubbed them as he continued to eat her out. By the time he was finished Xena was so wet, her essence was running down her thighs.

He stood between her legs and kissed her passionately as he squeezed one of her breasts. As they continued to kiss Ulysses grabbed both of Xena's thighs and the kiss ended as he without warning, drove his huge, erect member into her. Ulysses quickly placed his hand over Xena's mouth as she screamed into it while he pumped into her. He leaned in and kissed her cheek and chin and he fucked her hard, fast and good. Ulysses removed his hand and leaned in and kissed and sucked on Xena's neck. Her feet rested against his thighs and she held onto his butt that was flexing every time he thrust into her. "Unnnn…unnnn," Xena moaned, Ulysses had never really taken her this way and he was so big, he was stretching her more than he usually did and her cunt was already so sensitive from when he gave her the tongue lashing of her life.

Sweat began to cover Ulysses' body as he thrust deep and hard into her, "you're getting loud," he whispered to her as he looked into her eyes before he leaned in and kissed her passionately. "I…I can't help it," she moaned as she looked into his eyes and Ulysses grinned as he leaned in and kissed Xena again, if she thought she was feeling great pleasure he hadn't shown her anything yet. Ulysses placed his hands against the wall and stooped down some before he came back up hard and fast, pushing further into Xena. Her face turned up as though she were in pain but he knew better, "you want me stop?" He asked her and Xena shook her head then let out a very loud moan she had been holding in. Ulysses placed his hand back over Xena's mouth to smother her moans and cries of pleasure and he just moaned into her ear, "uunnnngh…unnn…oh yeah," he moaned then moaned again when he felt Xena's renewed wetness.

In the back of his mind Ulysses realized what was going on, he realized that he had lost control of what he was trying to keep hidden from Xena until he felt that she was ready for it. She had surprised him when she came in and did what she did and he tried to keep a control on his passions but at that moment it just wasn't possible but now that he realized what was going on, he knew they couldn't go any further, any deeper into this part of his life until they were both ready. So he continued to kiss Xena passionately and thrust into her until ten minutes later when he came hard into her and she grasped at his back as she fell behind him. They stayed in their positions as they tried to catch their breaths and when Ulysses had caught his breath some he pulled back and looked at Xena who looked at him for a moment before she looked down, not sure what to make of what just happened.

Ulysses let out a breath and pulled out of Xena and stepped back and looked at her for a moment before he looked around the room for his clothes and began putting them on and Xena did the same. When they were dressed Ulysses opened the door to let some fresh air in then turned and looked at Xena who was silent as she looked out into space. "Xena," he called and she snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Ulysses who looked back at her with worry in his eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked and Xena grinned and nodded, "yea…yea I'm okay," she said and Ulysses looked at her and nodded. "I should be meeting back up with your mother," she said as she walked towards the door. "Wait," Ulysses called and Xena turned and looked at him, "did you want something or was that all you came to see me for? Not that I'm complaining," Ulysses said with a grin, trying to bring some humor into the situation and Xena grinned back.

"I came to ask you something but I've already gotten my answer," she said. "I'll see you later, I think I'm having dinner with your mother and Clarisse," she said then turned and the room and Ulysses stood there for a minute then ran after Xena. "Xena," he called and she stopped and looked at him just as she was about to walk out of the door. "What was the question? What did you want to know?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked into his eyes, hesitant about whether or not she should say anything. "Tell me," he said as he walked up to her and they looked into each other's eyes. "I wanted to know if I knew all of you," she said then reached her hand out and caressed his cheek and grinned a sad grin. "And I don't," she said, "you do," he said as he grabbed her hand on his cheek, keeping it there. "No, I don't and what we just did, proved it," Xena said then lowered her hand and turned around to walk away but Ulysses grabbed her arms and walked up behind her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her and Xena turned around and looked at him. "We'll talk about it after dinner, right now I just need some time to think," Xena said and they looked at each other for a moment longer before she left and he stood there, not sure what he should do because he knew this was a problem he had created and now he had to find a way to fix it.

**Continued In**

**Chapter Twelve: The Road Less Traveled **

**but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be taken**

**Let me know what you think. **

**Negative and positive feedback is welcomed, it is encouraged. **


	12. Chapter 12

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. There are just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played. So the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. lol If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if its too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination.

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together. There is no more violence than your regular Xena episode.

**Chapter Twelve: The Road Less Traveled **

**However, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be traveled**

Xena made it back to Marguerite and Clarisse who were on the patio off of the dinning hall, Xena sat down with them and as they talked she was silent as she had things on her mind. "Is something wrong Xena?" Marguerite asked and Xena looked at her and shook her head, "no, I just have some things on my mind," Xena said and Marguerite nodded. "Would those things be Ulysses?" She asked and Xena let out a breath as she played with the food on her plate, "what do you do, when the one you love most in all the world is hiding a piece of himself from you?" Xena asked and they looked at her, "you try to figure out why he's hiding it from you."

Marguerite said and Xena looked at her, "look Xena, we all have a part of ourselves that we hide, mostly because we're afraid that, that part of us won't be accepted, that the one you love most in all the world won't understand. That's why human beings keep secrets and tell lies," Clarisse said and Xena thought about that then felt a hand on her arm. "Instead of being upset with him, talk to Ulysses about it but also remember you can't ask of him what you aren't willing to give." Marguerite said and Xena thought about that and they spent the rest of the day hanging out with the women they had hung out with earlier that morning but Xena was beginning to see how some of the women worked and as she listened to them she got in on some of their lives.

After Xena left the archives, Ulysses paced back and forth in the room before he left and headed to find his best friend. He found Virgil in a nearby hall talking to one of the servant girls, "Virgil I need to talk to you," Ulysses said, "not now," Virgil said as he smiled at the woman in front of him. Ulysses looked at him then used a word that he knew Virgil would understand, "sharing," Ulysses said and Virgil stopped talking in mid-sentence and turned and looked at Ulysses who looked back and Virgil let out a breath as he turned and looked at the woman in front of him. "Can I come and find you later?" Virgil asked and she nodded, "I work in the kitchens today," she said and Virgil nodded then walked over to Ulysses who followed Virgil down the hall and into a nearby closet. "What's going on?" Virgil asked and Ulysses let out a breath, "I messed up…I messed up bad with Xena," he said as he ran his fingers through his hair and Virgil let out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"She found me in the archives and before I knew it, she was kissing me passionately and then she was giving me head and…" Ulysses said then waved his hand in the air and Virgil looked at his friend. "I fail to see where the problem is," he said and Ulysses looked at his friend, "I let that part of me out that I have been keeping locked up since I've met Xena and I swore to myself that I wouldn't let her know that part until she was ready and believe me, she's not ready," Ulysses said. "How do you know that? How do you know she's not ready and willing to know that part of you?" Virgil asked as he looked at Ulysses, "because she can't handle it," Ulysses shouted to his friend and Virgil looked down for a moment before he spoke. "She came to me earlier before she came to you, apparently she had heard some of your past conquests talking while she, my mother and your mother were at the market. They told her you and I use to share women and she asked me if it were true," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at her.

"What did you tell her?" Ulysses asked, his heart racing as he waited for the answer. "I told her yes," Virgil said and Ulysses let out a breath as he gripped his hair after running his fingers through it before he bent over as though he were in pain. "Why did you tell her yes?" Ulysses asked, "because it's true and she has a right to know, Ulysses she believes she can handle this part of you but you have to be willing to give her the chance," Virgil said and Ulysses shook his head. "She's not ready," Ulysses said, "you don't know that," Virgil said and Ulysses spun and looked at his friend, "and you do?" He asked and Virgil looked at him, "I tested her," Virgil said and the next thing he knew he found himself being thrown hard against the wall, with raging eyes looking back at him. "YOU DID WHAT?" Ulysses shouted and Virgil looked into Ulysses' eyes as he spoke the truth. "I pressed my body against hers and asked her if you came to her tonight saying you wanted me to join you guys, that you wanted me to taste her and take her, what would she say.

She looked into my eyes with such determination and said yes she would be able to handle it and then I leaned in and kissed her." Virgil closed his eyes in pain as Ulysses slammed him hard against the wall again, "she was hesitant for a minute but she returned the kiss and when it ended I told her we would see," Virgil said and Ulysses looked at his friend with anger in his eyes. "I can't believe you did that," he said, "Ulysses look, you needed to know and if you want to know for sure, you know what has to be done," Virgil said and Ulysses looked into his eyes as he shook his head. "No, no way in Tartarus am I about to let you have sex with the woman I'm about to marry," Ulysses said then walked away when Virgil grabbed the arm of his shirt pulling on Ulysses so that he was looking at him. "Ulysses this is a part of yourself, you can not hide from Xena. She is your soul mate and with a connection like that, you're going to want to share all of yourself with her. Why do you think you lost control so easily today?" Virgil asked and Ulysses let out a breath as he kicked a box that was in front of him.

"I'll tell you what your problem is, you've been hiding this for so long you're afraid to let this part of yourself out. You're afraid that she might accept you and that scares the Tartarus out of you because you haven't had to totally share yourself with anyone like that besides me," Virgil said and Ulysses looked down as he listened to his friend talk. "But you don't need to be afraid with her Ulysses, she is a great woman and she loves you, she loves you completely. Trust her, trust her with all of you," Virgil said and he looked at Ulysses for a moment more before he left the closet and Ulysses continued to stand there as he thought about what Virgil said, kicking the box in front of him again. He left the closet and strolled down the halls as he thought about what everyone, including himself, was saying about the situation.

He went to see someone about something then handled some things and before he knew it, it was time for dinner and he ate dinner with his father and Virgil, the women were no where to be found. They hung out for an hour or two and then Ulysses headed to his bedroom where he saw Xena was just walking into the room, "hey," he said and Xena turned and grinned at him. "Hey," she said and before she could get into the door he leaned in and kissed her softly, "what was that for?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned at her, "I just missed you," he said and Xena smiled at him as she walked into the room, greeted by Gemini. She headed to the bedroom and when she entered the room she stopped and looked at the bed then looked at Ulysses who was playing with Gemini. "You got a new bed?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded, "yea," he said and Xena grinned at him as he walked up to her and she met him half way. "Have I told you how much I love you?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned at her, "you have," he said and they leaned in for a soft, passionate kiss and when the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes as Xena caressed Ulysses' cheek.

"I'm going to take a shower," Xena said and Ulysses nodded and watched as she walked away and headed into the bath chamber. He let out a breath and went into the sitting room where he sat down and thought about the best way to talk to Xena about what happened earlier and what he was keeping from her. As he sat there and thought time passed Ulysses by and before he knew it, it was almost an hour later. He walked back into the bedroom and found Xena sitting on the floor in front of the fire place brushing her wet hair dry, as she looked into the fire. Ulysses changed into his pajama's then walked over to Xena with a glass of wine, "here," he said and she looked up at him and grinned as she took the glass from him. "Thanks," she said and he nodded as he sat down behind Xena, placing his legs on either side of her as he scooted up behind her and Xena took a sip of the wine then sat the glass down.

Ulysses picked up the brush and began brushing Xena's hair and she let him as she continued to look into the fire and they sat there for a while in silence until Ulysses broke it fifteen minutes later. "I think we should talk about what happened earlier," Ulysses said softly as he continued to brush Xena's hair while running his fingers through it. "I don't think there's really much to talk about, today I found out that you're hiding a piece of yourself from me, an important piece I think," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath as he stopped brushing Xena's hair, sat the brush down and wrapped his arm around her as he leaned into her and looked into the fire with her. "I'm sorry Xena, this part of myself, I've hidden for so long around certain people that its hard for me to just…let loose," Ulysses said as he struggled to find the words on how to explain what he was feeling to Xena.

"I want to let you in Xena, I crave for you to know this part of me but I'm afraid…afraid that you won't like what you see in me and I feel as if you're not ready." Ulysses said and Xena turned slightly and looked into his eyes, "you can't make that decision for me," Xena said as she looked at him and he looked at her. "And I love everything I see in you Ulysses, even some not so good qualities but loving you, loving all of you is what is meant when they say love a person for who they are, not who you want them to be." Xena said then placed her hand against his cheek as she continued to speak to him, "I love you Ulysses for who you are, for all of who you are and I don't want you to be anything that you already aren't or that you don't want to be." Xena said and Ulysses looked away but Xena turned his face back, "there are a lot of things in this world that people want but do you know what I want?"

Xena asked, "what?" Ulysses asked as he looked into her blue depths, "I just want you Ulysses, I just want you, all of you, nothing more and nothing less," Xena said as she caressed his cheek and as he looked into her eyes he could see that she meant what she was saying. "I just want you," Xena whispered once more with passion and longing in her voice, as they leaned their foreheads against each other while looking into each other's eyes. Ulysses closed his eyes as he pulled Xena closer to him while gently rubbing her arm, "open up to me," Xena said, her words barely audible but Ulysses heard them as though she had shouted them from a mountain top. "It's not what I can say but what I can do that will open up that part of me," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "But not tonight…tonight I just want to be with you," Ulysses said as he caressed Xena's cheek while looking into her eyes.

"I just want to hold you and talk to you," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes where she could see he needed that and she needed and wanted that as well, so she nodded and that's what they did, for the rest of the night and into the early morning they stayed up talking about anything and everything. They laughed and clowned around, they held each other and spoke of their dreams and ambitions, it was one of the best nights either one of them had, for instead of making love, they chose to give each other intimacy, something that was most often times taken for granted in relationships because a relationship is nothing if you don't get to know and continue to know the person you're in the relationship with.

They had fallen asleep in front of the fire place, the fire and each other's arms keeping the other warm through the night. When Xena woke, the sun was shining and she stretched some then looked up at Ulysses who was still asleep. She smiled to herself as she remembered last night and at that moment she was so happy and so comfortable, she just caressed Ulysses' chest and fell back to sleep. When Xena did wake up, Ulysses was no where in sight but she did notice she had been moved to the bed. She laid in bed for a couple of minutes before Gemini jumped onto the bed and Xena played with her before she got up and went to the bath chamber to get herself cleaned up. As she stood in the mirror and looked at herself she looked at the room behind her and all that it held, "I could get use to this," Xena said to herself then looked down at the ring on her finger.

'_You said you would marry him, so you're going to have to get use to this,'_ Xena thought to herself. "You know, standing there staring at yourself in the mirror isn't going to make you less beautiful." Ulysses said as he leaned against the door frame and Xena looked at him, "you're gorgeous my love, you're going have to deal with it," he said with a smile and Xena just grinned as she walked over to him. "Where's my kiss?" Xena asked as she placed her hands, "and demanding, how I love that," Ulysses said as he met Xena for kiss, "mmmm," Xena and Ulysses both moaned and when the kiss ended they grinned at each other. "Where have you been?" Xena asked as they walked back to the bedroom and she began to get dressed seeing as how it was late and she needed to get dressed and also because Ulysses was dressed.

"I went to see about some things," he said, "I'd like to finish showing you around but first I want to take you somewhere I know you'll like," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she put on a dress. "Okay," she said and when she was completely dressed and ready to go they left, grabbing an apple to put something in their stomachs. "Ulysses, how big is this palace?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned as he looked around, "to be honest, I really don't know, I'm not even sure if I've been everywhere in this place; its so old, its been in my family since the beginning of Ithaca's rule and I believe each generation adds on to the palace, until it has become this size."

Ulysses said and Xena nodded as they continued walking, "where are we going?" She asked, "you'll see," he said. They finally stopped walking when they were on the main floor of the palace, all the way at the end of the east wing where they reached double doors. Ulysses opened the doors and Xena stood there as she looked at the sight before her, "this is the garden," Ulysses said then took Xena's hand and led her into the garden. "This is beautiful," she said as she looked around at the green grass, strong, thick tress that stood tall and were so full of life. There were also a beautiful variety of flowers, streams, small and large ponds and as they walked it seemed as if the garden went on for ever and the birds singing, the wind blowing and the sun shining made the garden peaceful as well as its surroundings.

"I come here some times to think, I think many do," he said as he and Xena held hands and strolled through the garden. "I can see why, I would come here to think, relax of just for the simple sake of being here and enjoying all that's around me," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her then looked down. "What?" Xena asked as she looked at him then looked at Gemini who was bouncing around and sniffing everything, "you're a complex woman," Ulysses said. "Is that a good or a bad thing?" Xena asked and Ulysses smiled as he picked a yellow carnation and handed it to Xena who smiled as she took it then brought it up to her nose and inhaled its beautiful scent. "It's a good thing, it's definitely a good thing," he said and Xena nodded.

"If it's such a good thing then why did you mention it?" She asked and Ulysses hunched his shoulders, "I guess I just wanted to see if you knew how complex you were," he said as he looked at her. "You're so soft some times and then other times you're hard," he said and Xena listened to him as he described to her what he saw in her. "You're innocent at times but never naïve, you're intelligent, very intelligent though some times you hide it from people. You're strong, you're so strong and at times it's a great comfort," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "why is that?" She asked and he let out a breath and was silent as they continued to walk, "because at times it lets me know that I don't have to be strong, that you'll pick up in strength where I lack in weakness," Ulysses said and Xena stopped and looked at him, she looked into his eyes as she walked up closer to him placing her hands on his chest.

"In my eyes you aren't weak, you never have been and you never will be," Xena said then grinned as she caressed his cheek. "Let me let you in on a little secret," Xena said then grinned as she looked down for a moment as she thought about her next words. "You came to me at a time in my life when I had given up all hope of ever finding love. I was looking for something in life but I didn't know what it was until you came into my life, you freed me Ulysses, you freed me in every way imaginable and you opened my eyes and showed me the world. You're my hero," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes then looked down for a moment. "You know that's strange because I think of you as my hero," he said as he looked into her eyes and Xena smiled at him.

"That only means that we're meant for each other because we were meant to save the other from a life of loneliness, heartache and pain," Xena said and Ulysses smiled and brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it before they continued walking through the garden. "Ulysses will you do something for me?" Xena asked after a while of walking through silence, each in their own thoughts. "Anything, you know that," he said without hesitation and Xena nodded as they continued to walk. "What is it?" He asked as they came up to pond, "let's have a seat," Xena said and they sat by the water's edge, next to each other, Xena leaning slightly against him and they both looked out at the water. "Describe that part of yourself for me, what it's like, what you crave and what you do," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath. "I don't know if its something I can put into words," he said, "try, for me, please," Xena asked and Ulysses let out another breath as he thought about how he could put it into words.

"You know what it's like when you go on a ride on Argo. The feeling of passion, of the drive and the feeling of being free yet so high and full of life. Or when you're training with Athena, you're going up against a goddess, what do you feel?" Ulysses asked and Xena hunched her shoulders as she thought about it, "I don't know, extreme fear and excitement, my blood is boiling and even though it's hard I don't want to stop because I know the results will lead to something great. Training with Athena, fighting with her just fells me with a fire and power that I didn't even know could exist, which is strange considering she is more powerful that I could ever dream of, I'm sure she could snap my neck like a twig," Xena said and Ulysses nodded.

"Well when this part of me takes hold, all of those feeling are in me and they are so…so strong that I sometimes fear it'll take hold of me and I won't be able to gain control," Ulysses said then let out a breath. "Which is why sometimes I asked Virgil to join me," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him and he looked at her, "I know you talked to him yesterday and…I also know he tested you," Ulysses said then turned and looked back out at the water and Xena looked at him as if she were staring into his soul. "He's the only one who really knows all of you," she said and Ulysses didn't deny that. "Virgil never judges me, probably because we're a lot a like," Ulysses said then tilted his head to the side as he thought about those times. "When I was younger, I was wild, we were wild and we went out like crazy. Every night, it was a different place and a different woman, sometimes more than one woman," he said and Xena nodded as she listened to that.

"So you had two women?" She asked, "sometimes two, sometimes three, it depended on what mood I was in but it never went pass three," he said. "You talk about power," he said as he looked at Xena and she looked back at him, "the power that came from that was amazing. It was as if I could read their minds and I knew everything that they wanted and I exploited that until I had what I wanted and when they begged me for more, when they couldn't get enough…" Ulysses said then shook his head then tilted his head back and smiled as he remembered that feeling and Xena watched him and she wasn't appalled by what she saw, in fact she was fascinated by what she was seeing in him, what she could feel through their connection. Ulysses could feel Xena staring at him and he looked at her, afraid that he would see repulsion in her eyes but all he saw was extreme amounts of love, acceptance and understanding.

He grinned as he looked at her, "you're not repulsed by this, by me, by this part of me and what I like and how I feel," he stated as a matter of fact and Xena grinned at him. "No I'm not, I told you I wanted to know all of you and this part of you is interesting and exciting," she said and Ulysses smiled at her. "Tell me more," she said and Ulysses nodded, "well, I didn't sleep with any kind of woman. Depending on the mood I was in, that's the kind of woman I looked for but most of the time I looked for women who had a passion for life in them, especially the ones who thought they couldn't be controlled by that passion," he said, "and you showed them that they could indeed be controlled by it, that you would control it," Xena said and Ulysses nodded.

"Some were good, some were okay and some were fantastic, those who were fantastic I saw more than once and asked Virgil to join me until I eventually tired of them and found someone new." He said and Xena nodded, "then I looked for the innocents who thought they were bad or thought they could be bad so I gave them that choice." He said, "sometimes you found that in whores?" Xena asked and Ulysses shook his head and looked at her, "whores, never whores. You'll learn that here there's a classification for everything. Whores are for the peasants or the occasional man or woman who gets rich and has money to throw around. There are working girls for the middle class, escorts for the upper class, those who are a little under being a nobleman. Then there are courtesans, for the highest nobility and my father does have a harem but it's not for his use but rather for the use of those who don't want to pay for the sake of company and the kings who come to visit and get lonely."

Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "they may be classified with different names but they're all the same," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he raised an eyebrow at that. "Some would tell you that's not true, each one holds themselves differently and the cost for their company goes up, extremely," Ulysses said and Xena chuckled at that. "So, what is Angel?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, "I haven't heard that name in a while," he said, "I met her yesterday in the market, she clued me in on the fact that you were hiding a piece of yourself from me," she said and Ulysses nodded. "Angel," he said then grinned and chuckled to himself a little bit as he thought about her, "Angel is a courtesan of the highest standard yet she's not, shall we say, blind to the fact that she is what she is…a whore," Ulysses said and Xena nodded.

"But she is a great and beautiful woman and extremely great at what she does," he said, "tell me about her, about you and her," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her then let out a breath. "I had heard that Angel was the best but she was hard to get to but when I'm determined I find a way. I had seen Angel around and the thing that drew me to her the most was that she was a real woman in every sense of the word. Fiery, feisty, intelligent, bold and beautiful as well as very talented. She had that passion I had seen in most women but hers was ten fold and I was determined to capture that passion," he said as he held out his hand, "in the palm of my hand, molding it into what I wanted it to become," he said then closed his eyes and smiled as he remembered his first time with Angel.

"I was young but far from being inexperienced and Angel might have seen a lot, might have done a lot but I knew she wasn't prepared for that night with me. She prided herself on being the one who was always in control, no matter what it was or who it was, she was going to be in control. I touched, kissed and caressed her body that night like no man ever had and by the time I was done I had that passion in my hand and she was begging me not to stop, she wanted more and I happily gave it to her. I will admit that it wasn't easy, she was a real challenge but I enjoyed every moment of it and I knew she enjoyed it as well," Ulysses said then opened his eyes and looked at Xena who looked back at him as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Did you ask Virgil to join you?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded, "I did and it was great," he said, "she also brought one of her friends with her and that was enjoyable too." Ulysses said and Xena nodded and they were silent for a couple of minutes as they both thought to themselves. "Will you ask these things of me? Will you one day want Virgil to join us?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, "no," he said flat out, "why not?" Xena asked as she looked at him and he looked away, "tell me why? Why won't you let me in to this part of yourself?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, his eyes so serious, "I'll let you in to every other part of this part of myself, the sex, the games, the foreplay, the positions but this is a part you will not know…you won't." He said with conviction in voice then stood and Xena stood right after him, "why not?"

She asked as she grabbed his arm and he spun around and looked at her, "because I am a possessive man and I love you, I love you with all my heart, body and soul, with every fiber of my being, I love you like I have never loved another and never will love another and for that reason, I am very possessive when it comes to you." Ulysses said as he looked at Xena and she saw the passion in his eyes at behind what he was saying and what he meant. "Answer me this Xena, are you mine?" He asked her and she looked into his eyes, "yes, I'm yours, utterly and completely," she said and Ulysses nodded. "And I am yours completely and just as you wouldn't want me to be with another woman, I don't want you to be with another woman or man." Ulysses said, "let's just leave it at that," he said and Xena looked at him and nodded.

"Fine, I just wanted to know and now I do," she said and Ulysses looked at her, "and…" he said then cleared his throat. "And none of this bothers you?" He asked and Xena shook her head, "nope," she said then walked up to him, "let me be honest with you," she said. "Please," he said as he leaned against a tree and Xena continued to walk up to him. "What happened yesterday in the archives, shocked me at first but then I…" she said as she placed her hands on his chest and looked into his eyes. "Yes?" He asked, "I enjoyed it," she said and Ulysses chuckled as he leaned into her, "well if you enjoyed that, you'll definitely enjoy what's to come," he said and Xena smiled then moaned as Ulysses kissed her softly but passionately. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" Ulysses whispered to Xena who grinned as she caressed his cheek, "yea but I still like to hear it," she said then leaned in and kissed him.

"I love you," he said when the kiss ended and Xena smiled, "let's keep walking," Xena said and Ulysses smiled as they continued walking through the garden and when it came time for lunch they stayed there and had a picnic. When they were finished, Xena leaned against the tree and Ulysses was laying down with his head in Xena's lap as she ran her fingers through his hair. "So do you like it here so far?" Ulysses asked as he looked up at her and Xena grinned down at him, "yea, it's really beautiful here and the people that I've met haven't been too bad," Xena said. "But the women that I met yesterday want to think of me as a clueless village girl, when I get the opportunity, I'll show them differently," Xena said with a grin and a twinkle of mischief in her eyes and Ulysses chuckled at her before he turned on his side and cuddled to her.

"They asked me how you were in bed," Xena said as she caressed his cheek and Ulysses looked up at her, "that's because they don't know," he said and Xena nodded. "I figured that and I rubbed it in their faces," she said with a smile and Ulysses smiled back. "What did you tell them?" He asked as he caressed her stomach, "what do you think? I told them you were great which you are," she said and Ulysses just grinned. "Why haven't you slept with them?" Xena asked and Ulysses just cuddled closer, "too much drama, those women live, breathe and eat on their gossip and anyone else's. If I would have slept with one of them my business would have been all over the palace the next day," he said and Xena smiled as she leaned down and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"It doesn't really get cold out here for the winter, does it?" Xena asked as she looked around, "it can, sometimes we get snow but since we live around water it's the cold wind that we get the most." He said and Xena nodded, "do you know in three months we're going to be married?" Xena asked with a grin and Ulysses smiled up at her, "yea and I can't wait," he said and Xena's grin turned into a smile. "Neither can I," she said then leaned down and kissed him softly and when the kiss ended they just laid there and talked for a while longer before they both got comfortable and dosed off.

They woke up an hour later and Ulysses sat up and ran his hands over his face then stood and stretched. "That was a great nap," he said as he reached his hand down to help Xena up and she took it and smiled at him as she stood. "Yes it was," she said as she stepped into his arms then ran her hands over his chest before she leaned in and kissed him softly. "But you know what would have made it better?" Xena asked after the kiss ended, "what?" Ulysses asked as she ran his fingers through her hair while looking into her eyes, "if we had made love under this tree," Xena said with a smile and Ulysses smiled back as he looked into her eyes. "Are you ready for that, can you surrender to me, to your passion and your lust in that way?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked into his eyes as she fiddled with his shirt.

"I don't know about surrendering to my passion and my lust but I could surrender to you in that way, I could surrender to our love," she told him and he looked into her eyes and smiled as he leaned his forehead against hers. "Moments such as these let me know that I made the right choice when I asked you to marry me," Ulysses said and Xena grinned then leaned in and kissed him softly but passionately. When the kiss ended they continued to look into each other's eyes, "we'll do it when the moment hits us," Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "and when that day comes, we're going to make passionate love under this tree then carve our names into the tree and from that moment on, it'll be our spot," Xena said with a grin and Ulysses just looked at her as she smiled.

"It'll be our spot," he said as he looked at Xena and he just stared at her for a couple of moments while she looked out at the beautiful scenery. "What?" Xena asked when she felt Ulysses staring at her, "you're just so beautiful and not just on the outside but on the inside as well," he said and Xena blushed a little as she looked down. "I look at you and I can see inside of you, I see a wonderful, loving woman, who loves me with all her heart, unconditionally, you want nothing from me but my love and that amazes me so much," Ulysses said and Xena looked into his eyes as she caressed his cheek and he leaned into her caress. "Why does that amaze you? That's what loving someone unconditionally means," Xena said, "that's what makes our love so strong," Xena said then smiled at Ulysses as she looked into in his eyes and he looked into hers.

And at that moment he felt so much love for her, so much that it overwhelmed him a bit as he cleared his throat and looked down but Xena raised his head and continued to look into his eyes. "Just let it embrace you," she told him and he looked at her and took her advice then leaned in and kissed her passionately, he kissed her so passionately that she inhaled through her nose to get some air in. "Mmmm," Xena moaned as she wrapped her arm around Ulysses' shoulder while she ran her fingers through his hair and when the kiss ended they leaned their foreheads against each other. "I love you so much," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she continued to caress his cheek, "and I love you, I don't think you'll ever truly know how much, just know that you are my world," Xena said then leaned in and kissed him softly.

"Where to now?" Xena asked and Ulysses let out a breath and looked at her, "anywhere you want to go," he said and she smiled at him. "Well, this may be a little unusual for a future princess but…" Xena started saying and Ulysses grinned at her because he knew her like he knew the back of his hand. "You want to go to the training grounds and do some sparring," he said and Xena grinned and nodded. "No problem, let's go," he said and from there they left and headed to the training grounds. Once they were there they walked off to the side so that they weren't in the way and Xena watched the men as they trained, she watched their techniques and their moves. "My lord, is there something I can do for you?"

Gregory asked as he approached Ulysses who grinned at him then shook his hand, "no Gregory, I'm just showing Xena around," he said and Gregory looked at him a little strangely. "But the training grounds my lord?" He asked and Ulysses grinned at him while Xena rolled her eyes, "the training grounds Gregory, all women aren't helpless you know," Ulysses said and Gregory nodded. "Forget it Ulysses, he's never going to believe you, why don't we just show him," Xena asked with a twinkle in her eyes and Ulysses grinned. "I'm up for it if you are," he said and Xena smiled at him, "choose your poison," she said and Ulysses' eyes lit up as well. "A sword is as good as any," he said and Xena nodded her head.

"Clear the field Gregory," Ulysses said, "but my lord…" Gregory began and Ulysses looked at him. "That wasn't a suggestion," he said to the older man, whom he had known since he was a child. "Trust me," Ulysses said as he looked into his eyes and Gregory looked back and nodded then yelled for the grounds to be cleared. Xena stepped off to the side out of sight, "Athena I need some relaxing clothes," Xena said and without a response Athena dressed Xena in a pair of leather shorts, that came mid thigh and a blue sleeveless shirt that fell just to the top of the shorts and there was a cut over her chest. When she was ready she stepped onto the training grounds and Gregory handed her a sword and she thanked him for it.

The men that had been training before, were now off to the side and Ulysses stood in the middle warming up and Xena approached him. "You ready?" He asked her with a grin and Xena grinned back as she flipped the sword in her hand, "are you?" She asked with a fire in her eyes that Ulysses had come to love and from that point on there were no more words spoken. Xena attacked first and so they began sparring, then men on the side couldn't believe what they were seeing. This woman, their soon to be princess was fighting their prince and she was a good fighter, perhaps better than most of them. They couldn't believe her moves and how fast she could move as well as how complex some of her moves were.

They had been going at it for forty five minutes and everyone, even Gregory was engrossed in their sparring. Up on the hill that looked down at the training area, Camilla and Victoria had been out for a ride when they heard the commotion and decided to see what was up. When they got there they couldn't believe their eyes, "she can fight," Victoria said as they watched. They watched as Xena moved so fast she disarmed Ulysses and now had two swords and without further hesitation she swung at him and he jumped back. "Quite well it seems," Camilla said as she watched the move Xena just did. "My lord," a soldier cried as he threw him a sword and Ulysses caught it just in time to block one of Xena's attacks, "I think you were holding back the last time we sparred," Ulysses said with a grin and Xena smiled back as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Perhaps," she said and Ulysses laughed as they continued to spar. "Come on my love, keep up," Xena taunted Ulysses and he came at her hard and fast and Xena grinned as she returned the favor until twenty minutes later, Ulysses found himself on his back looking up at the sky. Xena walked over to him and looked down at him, "are you okay?" She asked and Ulysses nodded as he continued to lay there, "yea…yea I'm just looking at the sky," he said and Xena grinned as she stooped down next to him. "Come on, I didn't kick you that hard," she said and Ulysses smiled at her then took her hand and pulled her down on top of him and she laughed at him. "You sneak," she said and Ulysses smiled then leaned up and kissed her softly.

"Well I figured if my wife to be was going to beat the pulp out of me, I might as well get something good out of it," Ulysses said and Xena smiled down at him then stood and helped him up as well. "See Gregory, what did I tell you…" Ulysses said as he stretched then winced as he popped something back into place. "Nothing to worry about, Xena can take care of herself," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him. "My lady, where did you learn how to fight like that?" Gregory asked and all the men were interested as well, "I use to clown around with my brothers, here and there I suppose," Xena said as she hunched her shoulders. "She's being modest," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, "tell them, you're not in Amphipolis, trust me," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him then back at Gregory.

"I suppose it also helps that I'm Athena's chosen," Xena said and Gregory's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" Gregory asked as he looked at Ulysses then back to Xena, "truly my lady, are you really chosen by the goddess?" The guard named Milo Xena had previously met, asked and she grinned and nodded, "then it is truly an honor," he said as he bowed his head in respect then took Xena's hand and kissed the back of it. And Xena looked at him then at the other men who had their heads bowed in respect and then she looked at Ulysses for an explanation, "Athena is the main goddess we worship here on Ithaca," he said and Xena grinned at him. "We would be honored if you showed us a couple of things," Gregory said and Xena looked at him then at Ulysses. "Its up to you," he said and Xena looked back at the men, "I would love that," she said and they all smiled and grinned.

"How about tomorrow?" Milo asked and Xena smiled at him, "as long as I don't have anything else to do, that's fine," she said and with that, she and Ulysses left the training grounds and Xena was happy that she had finally found a place that accepted her for her, well sort of anyway, when it came to the soldiers, they were grateful and excited that she was Athena's Chosen now what would they others think. As far as she was concerned, that was a problem for another day, as far as she was concerned this was a happy day and much had been accomplished. Once they left the training grounds, Xena changed back into her former clothes and Ulysses continued to show her around, the last place he took her before they would have to get cleaned up for dinner was down to the treasure room.

The treasure room was located in the basement if you will and it was heavily guarded. "This vault in the middle is the main vault, used mainly for dealings with Ithaca," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she got a look at the thick, solid, heavy door and the locks on the door and she would come to see that it was the same for all the doors to the vaults, the only difference was two guards stood guard at the main vault while one guard stood guard at the others; this particular level was dedicated to the vaults and whatever treasures that inhabited the palace. "There are three people and only tree people with a key to the main vault, my father, the treasurer, whose name is Denmark and Lucius since he's head advisor. There are no extra keys and no molds to make extra keys," Ulysses said then explained how opening the vault worked. "As you can see there are three locks on the door, one on each side and one in the middle. These guards," Ulysses said as he nodded to the guards, "hold a key to the side they're assigned to and say my father came down here to get some money.

All three of them would have to put the keys in and they would have to turn them all at the same time, if you don't the door doesn't open," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "That's very ingenious," she said and Ulysses nodded, "it took some coming up with, Ithaca is known by word of mouth to be a wealthy island, so you can imagine all of the pirates and bad elements we've had trying to break in here and steal what they can, that's why the security is so tight down here. Also at the main door before you come down the stairs, as you may have noticed, there are two guards standing guard and there is also a parchment where you sign in and the guards monitor how long someone stays in here." Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "what happens if all three keys are lost?"

Xena asked, "the locks on the door have to be removed, because they were specially made. New, specialized locks will be made as well as new keys," he said and Xena nodded and they walked down a little bit when they reached the next vault, "this vault belongs to my father and mother. Opening it, works basically the same way, except there's just one guard, you don't really need all the extra security, my father and mother are the only one's with keys and the same thing that applies to the main vault applies to all the others," Ulysses said and Xena nodded and they walked to the next vault. "This is my vault," Ulysses said then pulled out his key and nodded to the guard who pulled out his key and put it in the lock and Ulysses put his in the other lock. They looked at each other and simultaneously turned the key until the vault unlocked.

They both pulled their keys free and the guard pulled the door open and Ulysses took Xena's hand and led her into his vault. She looked around at the coins, jewels and such. She walked over to a jade stone, marveling at its beauty and Ulysses walked up to her and she looked at him. "This is beautiful," she said as she looked back down at it and he grinned at her, "it's yours," he said and Xena smiled at him. "That's nice Ulysses but what would I do with it," she said as she sat it back down on a shelf that held many jewels. "This is yours," Ulysses said as he handed Xena the key and she looked at it then at him, "I can't," she said and he grinned as he placed his hand on her cheek. "You can," he said then placed the key in her hand.

"We are each given two keys to our own vaults, in case we loose one key or if we see fit to bestow the other on someone whom we trust," Ulysses said. "And I trust no one more than I trust you, so who better to give my other key to than the woman I love, the woman I'm about to marry," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she looked at him. "My money, is your money now," he said then leaned in and kissed her softly and when the kiss ended, Ulysses lead Xena over to a series of trunks. "Use the key to open the trunk," Ulysses said and Xena did as he said and unlocked the trunk and he opened it to revel, coins, more than the eyes could count. "All of these trunks around this room are filled with money, few with jewels," Ulysses said.

"You can use this money, your money for whatever Xena, you don't need to ask me for permission, all I ask is that you keep a record of what you take out, and how much you spend, just so we can keep track," Ulysses said and Xena nodded then looked at him. "So what you're saying is that this is my money too and I can spend it on whatever I want?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded then laughed as Xena hugged him and knocked him over so that he was laying on the fur covered floor. "Thank you," she said as she leaned down and kissed him and Ulysses moaned as he ran his fingers through her hair. "But I don't need all of this money, nor do I want it, I just need and want you, just you," Xena said and Ulysses smiled as he rolled Xena over onto her back and she laughed before they were involved in a passionate kiss.

"Hey Jason," Ulysses called to the guard outside of the door, "my lord?" He answered as he poked his head into the room, "close the door and ignore the cries you're going to hear," Ulysses said with a grin and Jason grinned as he bowed his head. "Yes my lord," he said then closed the door, leaving them in total darkness. "I can't see anything," Xena said, "give me a minute," Ulysses said as he crawled off of her and went and lit two torches. With the torches lit the room sparkled with the reflections of the jewels that were all around and it was an absolutely amazing sight. "Wow, its like star gazing without the stars," Xena said as she looked up at the ceiling and around the room, while Ulysses was busy rummaging through a box.

When he was done he made his way back over to Xena and lay down on his side next to her and without any words he leaned in and kissed her passionately. They laid there for a half an hour, passionately kissing and caressing each other, slowly ridding themselves of their clothes which was nothing more than a hindrance to them. When Xena lay beneath Ulysses naked, he ended a very passionate kiss and they looked into each other's eyes as Xena caressed his cheek. "I have something for you," he said then picked up a necklace with a pink, tear drop diamond on the end. He held it up for her to see and she watched as it sparkled, "its beautiful," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he placed it over her head then leaned in and passionately tasted her lips.

As they continued to kiss Xena rolled Ulysses onto his back and after a couple of minutes she ended the kiss then reached over into the open chest and pulled out a hand full of coins and she looked into Ulysses' eyes as she dropped them onto his chest and he smiled at her and looked at the diamond nestled comfortable between her breast. She rubbed the coins all over and they smiled at each other before she leaned down and resumed their kissing. Soon Ulysses rolled Xena onto her back and began kissing his way down her body, paying special attention to her breasts, "I love your breast," he said as he caressed the globe then leaned down and sucked on the nipple. "Ummm," Xena moaned as her body arched into him and she ran her fingers through his hair.

He spent ten minutes on Xena's breasts then continued on his journey down and once he was between her legs, he went all out. "Unnngh," Xena moaned as her body arched and when she opened her eyes she just looked at the walls with the beautiful colors of the jewels reflecting on them. "Mmmm," Ulysses moaned as he tasted what she had to offer, "Unnnngh…Ahhhh," she cried out as he sucked on a particular sensitive spot. "Ooohh…something new," Ulysses said with a grin and Xena smiled back then cried out as he went back to that spot and tested it for all it was worth. "Unnnghh…don't stop," Xena moaned as she bit down on her bottom lip while trying to pull Ulysses closer. He took her hands from his hair and pinned them to the ground as he pushed into her and went all out; Xena was crying out and her body was constantly arching off the ground as she tried her best to grind herself into Ulysses' mouth.

He eventually let her hands go and held her hips still, determined that he was going to be the one in control. When he sucked on her clit she just looked up at the ceiling with her mouth wide open and her legs began to quiver and soon whimpers were leaving her mouth. When he had finally had his fill he kissed his way back up, spending another ten minutes on her breasts before he was looking into her eyes and they shared a passionate tasting of lips. As they kissed Ulysses posed himself at her entrance and pushed in, "Unnngh," they both moaned when the kiss ended and they looked into each other's eyes before they started the kiss up again. They began to make love, rolling around the room, smiling at each other as they shared passionate kisses and caresses, one never wanting to let the other go.

When Xena was on top she rode Ulysses, with adding her own twist to it. Her hands were on his chest and her head was tilted back as she rode him hard and deep and Ulysses was the one who was moaning non stop now. "Unnnn…Unnnn," he moaned as he caressed her thighs and hips. After a while, he ended back on top as usual and he thrust smooth and gentle yet deep into Xena as they kissed. Forty-five minutes to an hour later, they released and now they lay on the floor, naked in each other's arm. "Did you bring me here for this?" Xena asked as she looked up at Ulysses and he grinned down at her, "no," he said with laughter in her voice. "But if I had it was a damn good idea," he said and Xena smiled as she leaned in and kissed her and when the kiss ended she let out a breath and laid her head down on his shoulder while she caressed his chest.

They laid there for about twenty minutes then they got up and dressed. "Here," Xena said as she prepared to take the necklace off, "nope," he said as he took her hands away from it. "It was a gift from me to you," he said then pulled her to him, "besides it looks absolutely gorgeous on you, especially when we made love," Ulysses said and Xena smiled as she leaned in and kissed him. "Don't we have to get cleaned up for dinner?" She asked and Ulysses nodded and from that point on they left the vault, Ulysses winked at Jason who winked back at him. "What was that about?" Xena asked as they walked up the stairs, "what was what about?" He asked innocently as he signed his name to the parchment, "that wink you and Jason shared," Xena said as they went up more stairs then headed to their chambers.

"Oh that," he said, "yes that," Xena said as she held onto his arm and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her. "It was just a guy thing," he said and Xena nodded. "Nothing for you to worry about," he said as he spun her around and Xena smiled at him, "I'm sure," she said and they continued to the room and once they were there, Ulysses pulled out key. "This is your key," he said and Xena grinned as she looked at him, "well aren't I a lucky girl, I'm just getting keys left and right to things," Xena said as she opened the door and Ulysses chuckled as he walked into the room. They both got cleaned up, they put on some fresh clothes and by the time they were done they headed to the dinning hall, where mostly everyone was already there.

"So what did you guys do today?" Marguerite asked her son, "I continued to show Xena around," Ulysses said, "was that before or after you and Xena had a go or whatever on the training field?" Camilla asked and Ulysses looked at his sister, "you just love our daily disagreements, is that it?" Ulysses asked and before anyone knew it they were going back and forth, talking at the same time, the whole kit and caboodle. "Hey, Hey," Xena said as she looked at Ulysses then at Camilla, Marguerite just shook her head and Julian sat there trying to figure out who was saying what. "What is it with you guys?" Xena asked, "She started it," "He started it," they both said at the same time and everyone found that hard not to smile and chuckle at.

"I did not," they said together again, "stop that," and it was becoming so funny that Xena was finding it hard not to laugh and they started bickering again. "Alright enough," Xena said and they both looked at her, "you guys remind me of me and my brothers," Xena said with a grin and she recalled all the arguments they used to get in. "Camilla if you disagree with my fighting just say so, don't beat around the bush, I don't have the patience for that kind of thing," Xena said to her and Camilla looked at her. "Fine I don't like you fighting…its wrong," she said, "why is it…" Ulysses started to ask but Xena held up her hand silencing him and Marguerite and Julian grinned at that. "It's only wrong because you think its not lady like, trust me, whatever your about to tell me I've heard it all before, and frankly I don't care anymore, this is who I am, deal with it," Xena told Camilla who looked at her.

"If you're jealous and you want Xena to teach you Camilla all you had to do was ask," Ulysses said with a grin and Xena hit him on his arm. "What?" He asked and she looked at him with stern eyes, "stop teasing your sister, we women have enough to go through without men constantly throwing things back in our faces," Xena said and Ulysses opened his mouth to say something then closed it when he thought better of it. "But," he said after a minute and Xena looked at him and he let out a breath, "fine," he said in a pouting voice and Xena grinned as she leaned in and kissed his pouting lips. "Man you're whipped," Virgil said with a smug grin on his face and Ulysses kicked him under the table, "you should be so lucky," Ulysses said then grinned as Xena poured him a glass of wine then placed her arm around his shoulder before she leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Virgil could you pour me some wine?" Camilla asked and he grinned as he looked at her, "sure," he said then picked up the bottle and filled her glass half way. "Thanks," she said and he grinned and nodded at her, "you're welcome," he said and Ulysses looked at them. "Hey," he called and Virgil looked at him, "don't go making any of your moves on my sister," he said and Virgil shook his head, "I…I wasn't doing that," he stammered, "honestly Ulysses, what a guy can't be a gentleman without making a move on me?" Camilla asked and Ulysses looked at his sister, "you're trying to bait me but I'm not going to let you," Ulysses said and Xena chuckled at them. "Besides even if Virgil were making his moves on me, for one they wouldn't work because I know how he is and for another I'm currently seeing someone," Camilla said and everyone looked at her.

"Oh, who is he and when are we going to meet him?" Julian asked his daughter, "his name is Bernard," Camilla said. "Kristy and Manuel's son?" Marguerite asked and Camilla nodded, "I don't think so," Ulysses said and Camilla rolled her eyes at her brother. "Whatever Ulysses," she said, "no not whatever, Camilla, Bernard has a habit a very bad habit of putting his hands on women," Ulysses said and Camilla looked at him. "Then it seems you and he share the same problem," she smartly replied, "not in that way Camilla and you know that's not what I meant," he said and Camilla let out a breath. "I know what you meant and I'm not stupid, I've checked him out for myself and I've found him to be a decent man," she said and Ulysses was about to say something when Xena placed her hand on his arm and he looked at her.

"It's her life, let her live it as she sees fit," Xena said, "thank you Xena," Camilla said and Xena nodded. "But be careful, people aren't always what they seem," Xena said and Camilla nodded. Ulysses didn't like that and when dinner was over and they were on their way back to their room, he expressed it as so. "How can you tell me to leave it alone, it's her life and I should let her live it how she sees fit?" Ulysses asked, "because Ulysses just think about it, in some ways Camilla is like you. When someone tells you not to do something that's like them challenging you to do it anyway. So you were going to forbid her from seeing this guy but she was going to do it anyway."

Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath, "but Xena he's no good for her," he said and Xena stopped him and looked into his eyes. "She's your sister, what man is going to ever be good for her for you?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her and let out a breath, "I just want her to be safe, I just want to protect her," Ulysses said as they continued walking and Xena nodded as she took his hand. "I know, its your instinct as her older brother to want to protect her but she's a grown woman Ulysses and you have to let her live her life, the way she sees fit and be confident in the fact that if she's in trouble, if she needs your help then she'll come to you for it but until that happens you can't continue to try and control her, you're not her father and even if Julian tried…" Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he finished the rest, "it still wouldn't work," he said and Xena grinned.

"Exactly," she said, "you're an intelligent man Ulysses and I'm sure you can keep and eye on this Bernard person, without him or her knowing," Xena said and Ulysses grinned at Xena. "What would I do without you?" He asked and Xena smiled, "you'd be lost," she said and Ulysses laughed at that, "no doubt my love, no doubt," he said. When they made it to their room, they took a nice hot relaxing bath together, then got in bed and cuddled while they talked about any and everything, sharing a few kisses and caresses in between before they fell asleep. The rest of the week passed and Ulysses continued to show Xena around and unfortunately after that week was over, his father was harassing him about work that needed to be done and Marguerite was beginning to harass Xena about wedding preparations, mostly sending the invitations out and things like that; so things really began for them both but they still found time for each other, they always would.

Two months passed and they were now in full blown winter mode now and while Ulysses went to work with his father, Xena mostly hung around with Marguerite and Clarisse to get the hang of things. She also had some things she had to read, it was mostly Ithacan law, traditions and such, this was one of her requirements before she and Ulysses got married. When she wasn't spending time with them or with Ulysses, she spent time training with Athena, most of the palace by now, having known that she had fighting skills, great fighting skills, that she was Athena's chosen. As Ulysses has spoke of, there was intense wind but as of lately they had been getting some snow and with weather conditions not really all that good, that meant Ulysses was working late and they didn't really spend that much time together, although he made the effort to spend every spare minute he had with her.

So when the evening was over, Ulysses always came back to the room, to a warm and loving environment, a warm bed and waiting and loving arms, along with hot food to go along with all of that. "How was your day?" Xena asked Ulysses as he walked into the bedroom and he let out a breath as he threw documents down on the desk then sat down in the chair. "You know, my father just works on my everlasting nerves sometimes," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she sat down next to him. "I'm telling him one thing, he's telling me another because he doesn't want to hear what it is I have to say, so I just let him have his way," Ulysses said then leaned his head back and rubbed his forehead with his temples.

"Running a kingdom isn't easy," Xena said as she ran her fingers through his hair and Ulysses grunted at that, "especially when the King and Prince are so much alike," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him. "At least you see that," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath and looked at Xena who had her robe on and her hair down and freshly brushed since she had just finished a bath not too long ago. "Come here," he said as he took her hand and she grinned as she straddled his lap and Ulysses wrapped his arms around her as he looked into her eyes. "I missed you today," he said and Xena smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair, "I missed you too," she said and Ulysses let out a breath as he pulled Xena closer to him and he leaned into her and inhaled her scent. "Mmmm…you smell good," he said and Xena grinned as she placed a kiss on the side of Ulysses' face.

"What did you do all day?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him, "wedding stuff," she said then reached over to the small table and grabbed two pieces of cloth, both different colors. "Which one do you like?" She asked and he looked at them, "for what?" He asked, "apparently, according to your mother, I need a color for the table cloths," Xena said and Ulysses rolled his eyes and looked at the sky blue material then the wine red one. "I like this one," he said as he caressed the red one and Xena grinned, "that's one I picked too," she said then let out a breath. "Those two colors are the colors for our wedding, especially the cake," Xena said as she looked at them, "I think," she said and Ulysses grinned at her then took the fabrics and sat them back down on the table.

"You want to do me a favor?" Ulysses asked, "anything," Xena replied without hesitation. "Caress my chest for me, it relaxes me and right now I need to be relaxed," he said and Xena grinned, "not a problem," she said then unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it out of his pants. She opened it until his chest was bare and then she softly ran her hands over his chest, caressing it like he had asked her to. "Ummm," Ulysses moaned and he leaned his head back and relaxed and Xena continued to caress his chest, massaging him in places that she thought he needed and by his moans he did, since he was so tense. After about ten minutes she leaned forward as she continued to caress his chest and began kissing and then sucking on his neck.

"Mmmm…what are you doing?" Ulysses asked with a grin as he tilted his head back more, allowing Xena more access and she grinned at him. "I'm relaxing you like you asked," she said and he chuckled and just sat back and let her continue to relax him. Eventually, her kissing and sucking moved down to his chest and Ulysses was getting worked up, far from being relaxed but he didn't mind being worked up this way. "How are you feeling?" Xena asked, "great," he said and Xena placed another kiss on his stomach before she stood with Ulysses hands in her own. "Then allow me to make you feel even greater," Xena said as she pulled him up and Ulysses grinned as he stood and let Xena lead him to the bed. He stood there and looked at Xena as she undid her robe and let it fall to the floor to reveal a sexy piece of lingerie.

"Wow," Ulysses said and Xena grinned, "you like?" She asked and he smiled at her as he walked up to her and pulled her into his arms, "I love," he said and she smiled then moaned as they shared a passionate kiss. They stood there for a while, softly kissing each other, their kisses sometimes turning into passionate tasting of lips which they wholeheartedly enjoyed. They were involved in one of those such kisses and Xena chose that moment to rid Ulysses of his belt, which she threw across the room, "I hope I'll be able to find that in the morning," he said between the kiss and Xena smiled at him. "I'll help you," she said as she began to undo his pants and he chuckled, "with finding my belt or with your current task?" He asked and Xena leaned in and kissed him passionately, "I need no help with my current task," she said and before he could say anything else she pushed him down on the bed and he grinned up at her.

Xena smiled as she pulled off his boots then grabbed his pants and pulled them off as well. "If you wanted me naked all you had to do was say so," he said with a grin as Xena crawled into the bed and she smiled at him. "I didn't just want you naked, I wanted to be the one who made you naked," she said and Ulysses chuckled before he was involved in a kiss so passionate his head was pushed back into the pillow. "Mmmmm," he moaned as he ran his hands over Xena's body pulling her down tighter against him, "I've got you," he told her between a kiss, because he wanted to feel all of her weight on him and so she laid entirely on him and he inhaled sharply and he held her tight. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes as Xena caressed Ulysses' cheek and he looked into her eyes as he began to pull down the straps to her top.

"Can I have you?" Xena asked as she brushed her lips against his and he grinned at her, "always," he said then moaned as they shared another passionate kiss and during this kiss he rolled Xena onto her back and so began the great feat, they called making love. Ulysses made sure that he paid attention to every part, every inch of Xena's body and he took his time and worshipped her like he would never get another chance. His caresses were gentle yet some how they were firm enough to cause Xena to arch into his touch. "Mmmm…Ulysses," Xena moaned as he placed a kiss on her stomach and he moaned as he caressed her soft skin and continued on his way down, all the way down to her feet then slowly kissed his way back up.

He spent fifteen minutes between her thighs, tasting the greatest treat ever created and again his kisses, caresses and sucking was gentle yet firm to the point Xena was crying out in great pleasure. When he was finished he kissed his way back up, until he was looking into her eyes and Xena pulled him down for a passionate kiss. They laid there and kissed for a while not really in any hurry, time passed and Xena rolled Ulysses onto his back and paid his body the same attention he had paid hers. Ulysses had his eyes closed and his head tilted back as he licked his lips and moaned as Xena licked his nipple then pulled on it with her teeth. "Unnnn," he moaned as he caressed her arms and back and Xena moaned as she moved over to the other and did the same thing before she kissed her way down. "Unnnngh," Ulysses moaned rather loudly as Xena sucked on him and she moaned as she engulfed him entirely and sucked him deep but gentle as she used her tongue to stroke him.

"Mmmm…gods," he moaned as he moved her hair out of the way and looked down at her as she pleasured him in a way that only she had been able to do. She sucked him for a while then moved down to his balls where she sucked them into her mouth and rolled them around with her tongue, "shit…unnnnngh," Ulysses moaned as his fingers dug into Xena's shoulders and she moaned as she continued to suck on them one at a time while she stroked him member with her hand. "Xena," Ulysses moaned as he brought his arms up and his hands grabbed the pillow he was laying on. She took her time in pleasuring him, her goal not being to release him but to simply bring him pleasure and ten minutes later when she was finished, she kissed her way back up to him until they were involved in a very passionate tasting of lips.

"Mmmm," they both moaned and Ulysses rose up some as he ran his fingers through Xena's hair and when the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes. "I love it when you say my name," Xena whispered to him and Ulysses grinned as he leaned in and kissed her softly, "Xena," he moaned out and he smiled when he felt the shivers run through her body. "The most beautiful woman in the world," he whispered then kissed her passionately and Xena moaned as he rolled her onto her back and settled himself between her legs. As they continued to kiss, the kiss seemed to get deeper and as it did Ulysses gently pushed his huge, erect member into Xena. "Unnnngh," Xena moaned, breaking the kiss momentarily but that was all. Ulysses developed a rhythm and from that point on he thrust into her while they continued to kiss passionately and caress each other.

"Ha…ha," Xena let out a breathy moan as she looked into Ulysses' eyes before she rose up for a kiss and he moaned as he caressed her thigh and placed it over his leg and thrust deeper into her. "Unnnn," Xena whimpered, and Ulysses began kissing and sucking on her neck, even biting her neck every once in a while. "Unnnn…Unnnngh," Ulysses moaned as he leaned his head against Xena's chest before she pulled him up for a passionate tasting of lips. They rolled around on the bed, no one really trying to be in charge or on top, they were just trying to enjoy each other in the best way and every way possible. Twenty minutes later when sweat began to cover their bodies, Ulysses ended the kiss and began kiss and sucking right along the area of Xena's collar bone.

"Unnngh," Xena moaned as arched into him while she grasped at his back and Ulysses moaned as he sped up his thrust a little bit. They weren't rushing their lovemaking, they were just letting it all flow naturally, that was the best way to go. Twenty minutes later Ulysses rose up and he was completely covered in sweat as his hand flew to the nightstand for something to hold onto as he continued to thrust into Xena and she met him thrust for thrust. "Unnn…Unnngh," Ulysses moaned as he tilted his head back and he moaned loudly as Xena pulled him back down on her equally sweaty body and kissed him passionately. "Unnngh…gods…you feel so…soo good," Ulysses moaned as he looked into Xena's eyes and Xena moaned as she ran her hands over his chest then rose up and kissed, sucked and bit down on Ulysses' chest causing him to jerk as a spasm of pleasure went through him.

Before he knew it Xena had rolled him onto his back and she took it from there for about ten minutes before he rolled her back onto her back and the room was filled with moans and cries. Ten minutes later those moans and cries that came from Xena were now nothing more than whimpers of pleasure as it seemed to her, Ulysses was hitting this pleasure spot in her, he was rubbing it exactly the right way and it was driving her to total insanity. She continued to whimper as they shared a tasting of lips and when the kiss ended Ulysses went back to kissing and sucking on Xena's neck while he ran his fingers through her hair and his other hand held on tightly to the sheets as some kind of anchor. Xena caressed Ulysses' back and she wrapped her arms around him and rubbed her legs up and down his as she met him thrust for thrust, "Aaahhhh," she cried out as her body arched into his and Ulysses moaned as he pushed into her causing her more and more pleasure.

Soon Xena's release had snuck up on her without her even knowing it, "I'm…I'm close," Xena cried to Ulysses as she held on tightly to him. "Unnngh…unnnn…I'm…I'm…" she moaned then her moans went to whimpers and when her release took her it was powerful and her nails dug into Ulysses' shoulder and as her release shook her body she dragged her nails along his arms as she whimpered and Ulysses moaned as he felt her tighten around him. "ooohhh…Oohhhh….unnnn," he moaned as he thrust faster into her and Xena continued to whimper. "Ulysses," she whimpered and he looked at the wall as he thrust faster into her then closed his and moaned and hissed at the same time when Xena scratched his back, the pain melting into pleasure. When he felt her release had stopped, he kissed her softly then began kissing his way down until his head was nestled between her thighs and he was tasting her release.

Xena moaned as his tongue caressed her so softly but it was feeding the fire that had not yet died down or out. "Unnn…Ulysses…baby," she moaned as she ran her fingers through his hair and Ulysses moaned as he parted her lips and sucked on each of them before he ran his tongue in the inside. Xena opened her legs wider and held onto her pillow as her body arched in pleasure and when Ulysses was done he kissed his way back up and pushed back into Xena and she looked into his eyes and he looked into hers as he thrust into her. "Ooh baby," she moaned as she caressed his chest and Ulysses closed his eyes at her touch, "gods your touch is electrifying," he moaned out then leaned down and kissed Xena passionately and they continued to make love.

Moans, cries and whimpers had filled the room again and now Ulysses felt himself getting close to the edge but he wouldn't fall off unless Xena was with him so he held on for her. "Unnnngh…Ooohhhhh," Ulysses moaned as he thrust into her and Xena moaned as she kissed him passionately. "You're waiting for me," she whispered to him when the kiss ended and she caressed his cheek while he looked into her eyes. "Yes, always," he moaned and Xena moaned as she pulled him down for another passionate kiss, one he didn't have time to get air for so he had to take it in through his nose. "Mmmm," he moaned as he caressed Xena's body and ten minutes later Ulysses came hard, he came so hard that he wasn't sure he would ever stop and Xena fell behind him.

"Oooohhhh…Oohhh," he moaned then winced as his release surged through him, his seed leaving him and going into Xena. When the last of the tremors had gone through Xena, she pulled Ulysses up for a kiss then wrapped her arms around him. He laid his head on her shoulder as strong tremors continued to ripple through him, "Ooohhh…unnngh," he moaned in Xena's ear. After a minute he rose up on his hands and looked down at Xena as he thrust into her feeling that his release needed some help. "Oooohhh," he moaned with his mouth opened wide as he tilted his head back in pleasure. After a couple of thrust he pulled out and began to stroke himself since he was already at the edge, he looked at Xena who removed his hands and she stroked him, closing her hand around him tight as she stroked him. "Yes…gods yes Xena," Ulysses moaned as he caressed her thigh and then his body began to tremble as his release began to take him.

"Unnnn…oooohhhhh….ooohhhhhh," he cried out loudly as his seed squirted onto Xena's stomach and she continued to stroke him until he collapsed on top of her and she just wrapped her arms around him and caressed his sweaty body. "Hold me tighter," she heard his muffled voice say and that's what she did, she tightened her arms around him as well as wrapped her legs around him, caressing his back as she felt a few shivers go through his body. They continued to stay like that even after Ulysses had calmed down, "am I hurting you?" He asked her as he rose his head and looked at her and Xena shook her head as she caressed his cheek, "no, you're alright," she said then kissed him and when the kiss was over he laid his head back down on her shoulder. They fell asleep that way and a few hours later when Ulysses woke, he eased himself off of Xena and laid don the bed, making sure to cover her with the sheet.

He looked at her as she moaned and turned on her side facing him, he watched her sleep for a couple of minutes then eased out of bed, slipped on his pajama pants that Xena had laid out for him then went over to the table where they was some food and sat down and at while he read over some stuff he had brought back to the room. He looked over at the bed as Gemini jumped onto it and settled at the foot, careful not to wake her mother and Ulysses grinned as he went back to what he was doing. Two hours later, Xena reached out for Ulysses but he wasn't there so she woke up and looked around the room and saw him sitting at the desk writing something. She sat up in the bed, holding the sheet to her naked body as she ran her fingers through her hair and looked at Ulysses. "Ulysses what are you doing?" Xena asked and he let out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair, "trying to get some of this stuff out of the way," he said and Xena looked at him then got out of bed and wrapped the sheet around her body as she walked over to Ulysses.

She stood behind him and ran her hand over his chest as she leaned down and placed a kiss on the side of his forehead, "come to bed," she told him as she leaned into him and Ulysses nodded as he finished his last sentence. He blew the parchment to make sure the ink was dry before he rolled it up and sat it to the side in a pile where he had things finished. He let out a breath first, to blow out the candle he was using then in a sign of exhaustion as he stood and walked back with Xena to the bed. They got into the bed and into their favorite position, "you work too hard sometimes," Xena said to Ulysses as she caressed his chest while snuggling closer to him. "Yea but this is just to prepare me for what it to come when I become King," Ulysses said and Xena thought about that as she closed her eyes then caressed Ulysses' cheek and he looked down at her.

"You're not alone, I can help if you let me," Xena said as she looked into his eyes and he looked back at her. "I know, I just have to get use to it I guess, I've been alone for so long," Ulysses whispered and Xena nodded. "I know but you're not any more," she said as she brought his hand up to her lips and kissed the back of it and that's the way they fell asleep. As the days passed by, the busier everyone became, Xena felt that she had about as much work to do as Ulysses did, with getting fitted for clothes and worrying about this and that for the wedding. It was a particular day, one not so special, she was in the room with Marguerite, Camille and the seamstress working on one of the many dresses that they thought she obviously needed.

"I think this will be a nice dinner gown," Marguerite said as she looked at Xena who was standing patiently on a stool while the seamstress made the adjustments. "What do you think Xena?" Camille asked and Xena just hunched her shoulders, "its okay I guess, I mean I've never been one to fancy dresses that much," Xena said and Marguerite nodded. "So I've noticed," she said and Xena raised any eyebrow at that. She was about to say something when the door opened and Ulysses walked in with one hand over his eye and Virgil behind him constantly apologizing. "Virgil," Ulysses said as he spun and looked at his friend, "will you stop apologizing already," Ulysses said then sat down on the sofa. "I just didn't see you and I thought you would have saw it," Virgil said, "what happened?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, "I got hit in the eye by Virgil's staff," Ulysses said and Xena got down off of the stool and walked over to Ulysses.

"Let me see," she said as she removed his hand and she tilted his head back so that she could see the extent of the damage that was caused. "Does this hurt?" Xena asked as she pressed down below his eye, right by his cheek bone, "shit," Ulysses said as he pulled his face away. "Bring me a cold cloth," Xena told Virgil who ran off to go and get it, "how did this happen?" She asked as she pushed on a couple more spots but he only winced at those, "I wasn't paying attention and just walked right into it," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "Marguerite can you grab that jar with the green stuff in it for me please? It's over on the dresser." Xena said and Marguerite retrieved the jar and brought it over to Xena who took the top of and dipped her fingers into the potent cream.

"Uggh…what is that?" Ulysses asked as pulled his face away but Xena grabbed him, "it'll help the blood circulate better so you heal faster," Xena said as she rubbed it into the area that would soon be a black eye. "It stinks," Ulysses complained and Xena shook her head at him, "all men are the same when it comes to pain, you're just babies," Xena said. "Hey, I resent that," he said and Xena grinned at him. "By the way I like your dress," he said with a smile as he looked at Xena's dress and she smiled back at him, "really? It doesn't feel like me," she said and he nodded. "It fits you well, like you were poured into it and you look gorgeous in it as I'm sure you'll look gorgeous out of it," he said with a grin and Xena smiled as she slapped him on his arm. "Ulysses I'm really sorry," Virgil said as he handed Xena the cloth, "Virgil I'm going to kill you if you don't stop apologizing, it was an accident, a stupid one on my part because I wasn't watching what I was doing," he said then winced as Xena pressed the cold cloth to his eyes.

"Hold it down firmly, I want to reduce any swelling there may be," Xena said then stood and wiped her hands and went back onto the stool so that they could finish with her dress. "Are you a healer?" Camille asked and Xena grinned at her, "when the occasion calls for it, I was taught by our healer in Amphipolis, she's a great healer whose been every where and she's taught me everything she knows," Xena said and Camille nodded. "Must certainly come in handy," she said and Xena nodded, "at times it does," she said as she winked at Ulysses who smiled at her. "That dress looks like it was made for royalty so it looks good on you," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him. "You think?" She asked, "I know," he said back and Xena smiled and let the seamstress continue her work.

**Continued In**

**Chapter Thirteen: Wedding Preparations**

**Let me know what you think. **

**Negative and positive feedback is welcomed, it is encouraged. **


	13. Chapter 13

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. Just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played, so the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if it's too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination. lol 

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together. There is no more violence than your regular Xena episode.

**Chapter 13: Wedding Preparations**

The next month passed and they were now seeing the endings of winter and things concerning the wedding were starting to get a little bit crazy. "I appreciate the offer but I have someone else doing my wedding dress," Xena said to Denise and Marguerite while they were adding some last minute touches to one of the many dresses that were being made for her. "And who is this other person?" Denise asked with her hand on her hip and Xena looked down at her, "you wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said. "Try me," Denise said and Xena let out a breath, "Aphrodite, Aphrodite is the one making my dress," Xena said and they both looked at her. "I don't believe you," Marguerite said and Denise nodded, "neither do I," she said and Xena rolled her eyes and hunched her shoulders.

"That's a problem for you, not me, just know that the wedding dress is under control," Xena said and no sooner did she say that, there was a pink light in the room followed by pink sparkles and roses. "You called Xena, I was a little tied up," Aphrodite said with a grin and Xena smiled at her. "I wasn't actually calling for you, I was just telling Marguerite and Denise that you were doing my wedding dress," Xena said as she looked over at their stunned face then back to Aphrodite. "Of course they didn't believe me," she said, "well that's understandable, I don't usually do such things for mortals but since you're Athena's Chosen, the best she's had I might add, she totally loves you," Aphrodite said, getting off of track for a moment.

"Anyway," she said as she looked down at her nails more than likely thinking she needed a manicure, before she looked back up at Xena. "When I heard Xena was getting married and to your hunk of a son," Aphrodite said as she walked over to Marguerite who just looked at her in amazement. "Do they say anything?" Aphrodite asked Xena who grinned, "yea but they're just in shock, they've never been in the presence of a goddess, as beautiful as yourself," Xena said and Aphrodite smiled at her. "That's why I like you Xena, you always state the obvious truth," she said then let out a breath. "Back to what I was saying, I insisted to Xena that I do her dress, as a favor of course, I'll also be doing her hair and whatever else on the day of the wedding," Aphrodite said as she ran her fingers through Xena's hair and Xena moved out of the way.

"I can do my own hair for my wedding," Xena said, "I'm sure you can but if you want to look absolutely fabulous for the hot Prince on that special day, so hot that he'll want to jump you right there at the altar, you'll let me do your hair," Aphrodite said and Xena let out a breath. "Whatever," she said then looked at Denise, "I'm going to ask Camilla to be my maid of honor, so can you do her dress?" Xena asked and Denise looked at her for a moment before she swallowed hard and nodded. "Xena…um you need at least two more people to be your bridesmaids, considering your brothers will be in the ceremony and I'm sure Virgil will be Ulysses' best man." Marguerite said and Xena nodded, "well that presents a dilemma, I don't know anyone else who can be my bridesmaids," Xena said then let out a breath. "Just something else to add to the list and think about," she said then looked down at Denise who had gone back to work.

"Are you bout done yet?" Xena asked, getting a little impatient, this was definitely not her thing, "You need to learn patience Xena," Denise said and Xena let out a breath. "I have patience, just not for this," she said and Denise grinned at her as did Marguerite. "There, all finished," Denise said ten minutes later and by that time, Aphrodite had not left the room, she was actually walking around looking at things. "I bet this bed has seen a lot of practice since you've arrived," Aphrodite said as she looked down at the bed and Xena almost stuck herself on a pin as she eased the dress off. "You haven't been watching have you Aphrodite?" Xena asked with a stern look in her eyes and the goddess held up her hands in defense, "easy blue eyes, I haven't been watching, I'm not allowed to. Athena said you like your privacy," she said and Xena nodded.

"Although if I were watching I could give you a few pointers," she said and Xena chuckled at that as she pulled her shift on. "A few pointers on showing me how to pleasure the man I love, I think I have that down," she said and Aphrodite nodded. "True but I can show you things that can make a grown man beg, after all, I am the goddess of Love and Sex, who better than me to teach you a couple of things." She said and Xena let out a breath, "what sort of things are we talking about?" Marguerite asked and Xena looked at her then grinned, "well Marguerite, I didn't think you had a wild, sexy side in you," Xena said and Marguerite grinned as she hunched her shoulders. "You learn something new everyday," she said then began walking towards Aphrodite.

"Now I don't doubt that I know how to please Julian, I don't doubt that at all but I am interested in those things that can make a grown man beg and I mean really beg," she said and Aphrodite chuckled at her. "You're getting you a hot mother-in-law Xena," Aphrodite said. "So I see," Xena said. "You know we should have a girls night, where we can talk about these kinds of things and have fun," Marguerite suggested. "That is so totally a good idea and we can have facials, manicures, pedicures and oh, hot guys giving us hot oil massages," Aphrodite said with such happiness in her eyes and the others laughed at her. "Anyone you want to invite is of course invited," Aphrodite said to Xena who nodded. "And when would this magic night happen?" Xena asked, "as soon as you want it to," she said and Xena thought about that.

"I'll get back to you on that," she said and Aphrodite nodded. Xena looked over to the door as it opened and Ulysses walked in. "Look at all these beautiful women in here, I'm a lucky man," Ulysses said and they all smiled at him. "Aphrodite it's always a pleasure to see you," he said to her and Aphrodite smiled at him, "not as much as it is a pleasure to see you," she said and Ulysses grinned at her and her flirtatious ways. "Well Xena that will be it for today, I'll see you the day after tomorrow," Denise said as she packed up her things and carefully handled the dress, "here let me help you Denise," Marguerite said. "I'll see you guys at dinner," Marguerite said then grinned as Ulysses placed a kiss on her cheek and being the gentleman he was, he escorted them to the door.

When he walked back into the room, he looked at Xena who was picking a couple of things up off of the floor. "Hey, where's my kiss?" He asked with a grin and Xena grinned as she met him half way, "I'm sorry," she said as she leaned in and kissed him softly but passionately. "Mmmm," Ulysses moaned when the kiss ended and they looked into each other's eyes, "I've missed you," he said and Xena smiled at that then leaned back in and kissed him once more. "Can I take that as a I missed you too?" He asked once the kiss ended and Xena chuckled at him, "yes you can and if we didn't have company I'd show you how much I really missed you," Xena whispered to him as she caressed his cheek.

"Hey, don't let me stop you, I've see it all before," she said then stood, since she had taken a seat on the bed. "But since we're on that subject, where's my kiss stud?" Aphrodite asked Ulysses who looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "excuse me?" He asked, "you heard me, where's my kiss?" She asked as she walked up to him some and Ulysses cleared his throat and Xena chuckled at his predicament. "Aphrodite, I'm a one woman man, why must you mess with me so?" He asked with a grin as he wrapped his arm around Xena's waist and she caressed his back. "Ummm…because I can and because I want a kiss," she said after she thought about it for a split second. "Fine," Ulysses said then leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek, "there's your kiss," he said and Xena laughed into his arm.

"No, stud muffin, when I said I wanted a kiss, I meant I wanted one you would plant on your beloved when you desire her," she said and Ulysses looked at her like she was crazy. "I'm not kissing you like that," he said and she looked into his eyes, "why not? A kiss like that wouldn't be hard, after all you desire me, what man doesn't desire the Goddess of Love?" Aphrodite asked and Ulysses looked at her then at Xena who hunched her shoulders, "she's…she's Aphrodite, what can I say?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at the goddess, "well I'm not kissing you that way, sorry," he said and Aphrodite nodded. "I understand, after all if you can't do it…" she started but Ulysses stopped her.

"Can't?" He asked and Xena grinned as she shook her head to herself, Ulysses was playing right into Aphrodite's hands, because Xena knew enough that when someone told Ulysses he couldn't do something, he would prove to them he could, with or without their permission. "I never said I couldn't kiss you like that, I said I wouldn't, there's a difference." He said as he walked up to Aphrodite, "but understand I don't know the word can't, it means nothing to me, I can do anything I choose," he said and Aphrodite nodded as she walked p to him. "Oh yeah?" She asked, "yeah," he said, "then kiss me," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and after a moments thought, he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her.

First the kiss was a passionate tasting of lips, that soon turned into a very heated, very passionate kiss, their tongues dueling with each other. "Mmmm," Aphrodite moaned as she ran her fingers through Ulysses hair and he moaned as he pulled her closer and Xena just stood there and watched the whole thing with intrigue and amusement. A couple of minutes later when the kiss they were both out of breath and Ulysses loosened his hold on the Goddess, "see, I can do anything," he said and Aphrodite grinned and nodded, "in deed you can," she said then winked at Xena who grinned and Ulysses turned around and looked at Xena who raised an eyebrow at him. "I…I," he stuttered, not knowing how to explain his behavior and his actions.

"I'll deal with you in a minute," Xena told Ulysses then looked at Aphrodite who was straightening her clothes. "Well I guess I'll be catching some waves," she said as she was about to leave. "Hold it," Xena said and Aphrodite looked at her, "what? Did I forget something, did I break a nail?" She asked as she looked down at her fingers and Xena shook her head as she walked up to the goddess, "where's my kiss?" Xena asked and Aphrodite looked at her for a minute before she responded, "are you kidding?" She asked and Xena shook her head, "you kissed my husband, so I get to kiss you," Xena said. "He's not your husband yet and what makes you think I want to give you a kiss?"

Aphrodite asked and Xena grinned as she stood in front of Aphrodite, "everyone knows that the goddess of Love has had her share of both men and women." Xena said, "so?" Aphrodite said and Xena stepped closer, "you can't stand here and tell me that you don't find me attractive," Xena said as she snaked her arm around Aphrodite's waist and pulled her tighter against her. "You can't tell me you don't want to kiss me," Xena said and Aphrodite grinned at her as she looked into Xena's blue eyes, "not bad blue eyes, not bad," she said, referring to Xena's seduction skills. Xena looked into Aphrodite's eyes for permission and when she found it she leaned in and kissed Aphrodite so softly and that soft kiss soon progressed to a passionate tasting of lips.

"Mmmm," Aphrodite moaned as she tasted Xena's lips and her hands went to Xena's face as she held her there. Xena deepened the kiss more and as they continued to kiss, she pulled Aphrodite sheer throw down a little just so that she could feel her skin and it was oh so soft. Ulysses stood there, rooted in place, watching what was going on in front of him and it was making him hot and harder by the minute. Minutes later when the kiss finally ended, Aphrodite was breathless and she let out another moan as Xena leaned down and began placing soft kisses on her neck, it was then that she snapped out of this wonderful trance. "O-k-a-y warrior babe," Aphrodite dragged out as she backed away from Xena who grinned at her. "You're not the only one who knows how to play the game," Xena said and Aphrodite nodded, "so I see and you're also not as innocent as you seem to be," she said and Xena grinned as she hunched her shoulders.

"Catch you later," Aphrodite said then disappeared, Xena let out a breath then turned around and looked at Ulysses who had walked over to the table and poured himself a strong glass of wine and was gulping it down and Xena grinned at him. "You alright?" She asked as she walked over to him and he nodded and swallowed hard before he answered her, "yea, yea I'm good, you just caught me off guard," he said and Xena nodded as she stood in front of him then without warning she placed her hand on the bulge straining against his pants. "Uhhh," Ulysses groaned and Xena grinned, "I think I caught you a lot off guard," she said and Ulysses nodded as he drained the rest of what was in his glass. "Would you like me to help you with this?" She asked as she caressed the bulge and Ulysses swallowed hard as he looked into Xena's eyes, "if you would be so kind," he said and Xena grinned as she leaned in and kissed him ever so softly.

However when the kiss ended she walked away, leaving Ulysses standing there, "hey," he called and Xena turned and looked at him. "I think I'll leave you in that state," she said and Ulysses let out a breath. "Is this some kind of foreplay?" He asked and Xena shook her head, "nope, this is your punishment for kissing another woman, goddess or otherwise you don't do it unless by some miracle you have my permission," Xena said and Ulysses groaned. "Xena…baby," he said and Xena shook her head, "maybe later I'll take pity on you…maybe," she said then walked into the living area and Ulysses let out a breath as he slowly walked over to the sofa and sat down. "You had to fall in love with and marry a woman whose more powerful than you in her own ways," Ulysses said to himself. "What was that?" Xena asked, "nothing," Ulysses said then let out a breath as he laid down on the sofa and tried to dose off before dinner.

When dinner came around, Ulysses was slightly less hard but the entire night he catered to Xena hand and foot and she loved it, even though he usually did it anyway. When they got back to the room Ulysses let out a breath as he began stripping, "I'm going to take a shower," he said and Xena nodded and watched as he left and she grinned to herself, especially when she heard him say a cold shower. As Ulysses stood in the shower letting the cold water beat down on him, he realized it wasn't helping his current state, the only thing that would help was the love of his life and at the moment she was still punishing him. So he took his shower then got out and dried off, he wrapped the towel around his waist then walked into the bedroom. Xena had already gotten ready for bed and was sitting in bed reading a scroll, "Ulysses you hold court every week?"

Xena asked and Ulysses nodded as he sat down on his side of the bed, "our court deals with more than just punishment for those who are in the dungeons, it's also a time for people to approach the King with concerns and petitions and things of that nature." He said as he laid down on his back and Xena nodded as she went back to reading. "It says here that no one can really contest the King's decision," Xena said, "only royal blood can contest a decision he makes, so I can contest it, my mother or my sister, that's it," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "Xena," Ulysses called after a couple of minutes, "huh?" Xena asked as she continued reading, "please, I'm sorry, I swear I'll never kiss Aphrodite again and you know I would never kiss another woman," Ulysses said and Xena looked at him, looked into his eyes and nodded.

"Just let me finish reading this," she said and Ulysses nodded and Xena grinned as she watched with her peripheral vision, him take off his towel and he threw it across the room and got settled under the covers. Ten minutes later when she was finished, she began rolling up the scroll, "you finished?" He asked, "yep," Xena said as she finished rolling up the scroll and placed it on nightstand and then Ulysses just jumped onto her and Xena laughed at him. "Care to take your time?" Xena asked and Ulysses shook his head as he helped Xena take all of her clothes off until she was naked beneath him. "It won't be as slow as we usually take it but I guarantee that you'll enjoy it," Ulysses said and before Xena could get another word out he kissed her passionately and settled himself between her legs.

Now even though he wanted to just get his pleasure and release, he couldn't help but at least exploring Xena's body a little and that's what he did. When he was done, she was dripping wet, which was also what he was doing and as they shared a kiss so passionate, he eased his erect cock into her. "Unnngh," Xena moaned as she ended the kiss and Ulysses rested his lips against Xena's cheek as he pulled out and pushed back in, slowly developing a rhythm. "Gods," Xena moaned as she caressed Ulysses' face, she had no idea how aroused he was and now she knew, now she really knew as he stretched her and caused great deal of pleasure for them both. Soon the room was filled with moans and cries of pleasure and forty-five minutes later they both released and Ulysses fell back on the bed, sweaty, his heart pounding and a great big smile on his face.

Xena was in the same condition and when she caught her breath some she looked over at Ulysses. "I…I ought to punish you more often," she said between trying to catch her breath and Ulysses chuckled at her. "Yea and no," he said and they both laughed then he let out a breath as he rolled onto his side and looked at Xena. "I realized something today," he said and Xena turned her head and looked at him. "And what was that?" She asked and Ulysses grinned, "I knew a long time ago that I would never want anyone else, sexually or otherwise but today I learned that my body feels the same way," he said and Xena chuckled at him. "What?" She asked with a smile on her face as she rolled onto her side facing him, "kissing Aphrodite was nice, don't get me wrong and it stirred feelings of desire but that's what she is. But when you kiss me…" he said then let out a breath and shook his head and Xena smiled at him as she ran her finger down his sweaty arm.

"That desire is a thousand fold, not to mention the need and the passion, it just completely takes hold of me," he said and Ulysses grinned at him. "And of course when you left me in that…need I say between a rock and a hard place," he said and Xena laughed at him and he laughed with her as she pushed him. "I tried to get some relief by thinking of something that wasn't arousing but whatever I thought of led back to you and when I tired to get some relief in the very cold shower, it didn't do a thing," he said then swallowed since he was probably thirsty. "It was clear then that my body was telling me, all it wanted was you, you were the only thing, the only person who could release this inferno in me," he said and Xena grinned as she rolled Ulysses onto his back and she laid on top of him.

"That's good to hear because you know I feel the exact same way," she said and Ulysses grinned as he ran his fingers through her hair. Xena let out a breath of content as she laid her head down on his shoulder and he caressed her back, "I noticed that my little kiss with Aphrodite really turned you on," Xena said. "It did," he said then placed a kiss on her forehead, "I think in the future if you want, that may be something we can explore," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath as he tightened his arms around Xena. "Yea, maybe in the future, way in the future, I'm not ready to share you just yet, don't know if I'll ever be ready to share you," he said and Xena chuckled and nodded then placed a kiss on his chest. They laid there for a while, a little talking and a little cuddling before they finally succumbed to sleep.

The next morning when they woke up, they took a shower together, having fun as well as doing a little of the other kind of fun. When they got out they began to get dressed, "can you believe that the wedding is a month away?" Xena asked as she brushed her hair and Ulysses grinned as he stood there in nothing but a towel as he looked over a document, "are you nervous?" He asked as he looked at her, "no," she immediately answered, "are you?" She asked as she looked at him through the mirror and Ulysses shook his head. "Why be nervous about something that's already written in our hearts," he said and Xena smiled at that then shook her head. "Speaking of written," she said as she went to her closet to pick out a dress to wear, "the priestess wants to know if we're going to write our own vows or should she just do something traditional?"

Xena said and Ulysses sat the scroll down and began to put on his pants, "I think it would be more personal if we wrote and said our own vows as well as doing some of the traditional," he said and Xena nodded as she sat down and put on her shoes. "That's a good idea," she said, "you know you can still help with the wedding," she said and Ulysses grinned as he put on his shirt and Xena walked over to him and helped him button it, although he needed no help. "I'm helping now," he said and Xena nodded, "besides in a couple of weeks, your mother, Corrinna, Lyceus and Toris will be here to help you," he said and Xena snorted at that. "Mother and Corrinna will help but Lyceus and Toris will be doing just what you're doing, nothing," she said then leaned in and kissed him softly before she walked back over to the dresser.

"Hey, planning weddings is a woman thing. What do I know about what colors and fabrics to pick out? What the cake should look like? Things like that," he said and Xena looked at him, "and I'm supposed to know? I'm not your typical woman remember, I don't know a thing about planning weddings, Tartarus I never even thought I would get married. But here I am, planning a wedding because I'm getting married, at least I'm trying," she told Ulysses then shook her head at him, "you could try but I understand," she said and Ulysses looked at her and walked over to her until he was standing behind her and he placed a kiss on her shoulder as he stooped down and looked at her in the mirror, while she was sitting down fixing her hair.

"Do you really want me to help you plan for the wedding?" Ulysses asked and Xena turned and looked at him, "it's our wedding, so yes I would like for you to help," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and let out a breath. "Alright, what would you like me to do?" He asked and Xena looked at him with a grin, "really? You're really going to help?" She asked and Ulysses grinned at her as he placed a lock of hair behind her ear, "I'm really going to help, so tell me what needs to be done and I'll get it done," he said and Xena nodded then pulled out a list and Ulysses looked at it.

"Wow, that's a lot," he said and Xena nodded, "no kidding," she said then looked over the list. "Got that, got that, your mom's got that," Xena said as she went through the list. "Ah, here's something for you to do," Xena said. "What is it?" He asked, "I'll tell you after breakfast," she said and Ulysses nodded and finished getting dressed. When they were ready they headed for the dinning hall, where they sat down for breakfast, "Camilla, I've been meaning to ask you something," Xena said and Camilla looked at her. "What?" She asked and Xena cleared her throat as she looked at her, "I know we haven't quite gotten along much since I've gotten here and I know your reasons and I respect them," she said and Camilla looked at her and nodded.

"But I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my maid of honor?" Xena asked and Camilla sat there looking stunned and Ulysses just smiled. "I know we haven't exactly seen eye to eye but I know if we just sat down and talked we could become good friends," Xena said and Camilla looked at her then at Ulysses. "It's up to you little sister," he said, not going to pressure her into anything and Camilla thought about it for a moment then looked at Xena, "okay, I'll be your maid of honor," she said and Xena smiled. "On one condition," she said and Xena looked at her, "name it," she said, "you don't make me wear some hideous dress," she said with a grin and Xena smiled. "I swear," she said and Camilla smiled at her.

When breakfast was over Ulysses pulled Camilla to the side and gave her a hug, "thank you," he said and she grinned at him. "No problem, I see how much you love her and how much she loves you. I won't stand in the way of your happiness and neither will anyone else," she said and Ulysses nodded. "Ulysses come on," Xena called and Ulysses grinned at his sister, "duty calls, Xena wants me to help her with the wedding," he said and Camilla smiled at him. "Good luck, I'm seeing to the dinner after the wedding," she said and Ulysses looked at her with surprise in his eyes. "I didn't know you were helping," he said and Camilla nodded.

"Mom asked me to help," she said and Ulysses nodded, "I'm glad you decided to help, and get to know Xena, I think you'll like her," he said then winked at her before he walked away. "See you later bumble bee," he called her and she laughed at him, "you haven't called me that in ages," she said and he smiled at her before he ran to catch up to Xena and his mother. "Where are we going?" He asked, "to the garden," Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "that's right, that's where you said you wanted to have the wedding if you approved of how beautiful I said the garden was," he said and Xena smiled at him as she grabbed his hand. "It's nice to know you listen," she said and he looked at her, "I always listen," he said, "I wish you'd listen to your parents the same way," Marguerite said and Ulysses grinned as he placed his free arm around his mother, then placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I do listen to you guys…sometimes," he said and they all laughed. When they reached the garden Xena and his mother began to explain to him the way they had envisioned things. "What do you think? Day wedding or evening wedding?" Xena asked Ulysses and he looked at her, "I think a day wedding would look more beautiful," he said and Xena nodded. "You two are too much alike," Marguerite said with a grin and they grinned with her. "Okay the guests would enter from here," Xena said, directing her attention to the double doors they had just come through. "By the way, have the invitations been sent out?" Xena asked Marguerite, "they have, so far a hundred have said they're coming," she said and Xena looked at her. "I don't even know a hundred people," she said and Marguerite nodded. "Neither did I for my wedding but we have to invite neighboring Kings, those who we have treaties with, nobles, people of that nature just to make sure things stay friendly."

Marguerite said and Xena let out a breath and nodded, "okay, well how many invitations did you send out?" She asked, "two hundred and fifty," she said and Xena's eyes nearly came out of her head. "Mother," Ulysses said as he looked at her, "I think I can speak for Xena when I say, we wanted a small wedding, medium sized at best. You've nearly invited three hundred people," he said and she looked at her son before she placed a calming hand on his arm. "It'll be fine, besides, it's not like we don't have the room," she said. "That's not the point," Xena said, "I know what the point is but like I said, these people had to be invited," she said. "Oh Ulysses is there anyone you wanted to invite that's not here on the island?"

Marguerite asked her son and Ulysses nodded, "yea and they have already been informed but I assure you, its definitely not a hundred people," he said in a sarcastic tone and Xena chuckled at him while Marguerite shook her head at her son. "Now, back to what we were doing," she said and Xena let out a breath. "Anyway, Ulysses I need you to talk to the gardeners and have them do things exactly as I've asked. I want everything to be perfect," Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "okay, what is it that you want done?" He asked and from there they took a tour of where the wedding would be held and Xena pointed out various things that she wanted done, what flowers she wanted where, how low the grass should be cut and the list went on until about an hour later she was finished and by then Ulysses had to send for ink, quill and parchment to write all of that down. "Did you get all of that?" Xena asked Ulysses as they headed back towards the palace, "barely," he mumbled to himself then went over the list with Xena as they continued to walk.

"Okay, you think you can handle it?" She asked and Ulysses nodded, "I can handle it, even if I have to get dirty myself," he said and Xena smiled at that. "Good, then I'll see you later," she said then leaned in and kissed him softly before she and Marguerite left. Ulysses looked down at the list and let out a breath before he went to rally the gardeners and one of the builders. "Since we're getting closer and closer to the wedding Xena, some of those things we talked about early on should start being done now," Marguerite said and Xena looked at her as they slowly walked through the halls.

"What kinds of things?" Xena asked and Marguerite let out a breath, "well for one, you and Ulysses have to go and talk with Lassa everyday up until the day before your wedding." She said, "what good is talking to Athena's priestess going to do?" Xena asked, "Talking with Lassa is to prepare you for marriage, to get some things out in the open, like secrets, feelings, fears and also to see how compatible you guys are. It's to help you really," she said and Xena nodded. "Okay, that sounds reasonable, what else?" She asked as they made their way towards Marguerite's chambers. "Well you're going to have to have a full medical look over by Pyres, our healer, Ulysses has to have one as well, but your will entail a few more things, nothing painful and nothing to worry about."

Marguerite said and Xena nodded and by then they were at the room and walking in, where they sat down on the sofa and Marguerite continued to explain to Xena. "Also, two weeks before your wedding, you and Ulysses have to abstain from sex," she said and Xena looked at her. "What? Why?" She asked, "before the wedding you and Ulysses will each go through your own purification rituals and it is important that you and he not have sex two weeks before the wedding." She said and Xena let out a breath, "he's not going to like that, cause I know I don't like it," she said and Marguerite grinned at her. "I'm sure you'll survive," she said and Xena nodded. "Is there anything else?" Xena asked and Marguerite shook her head, "nothing that comes to mind, this is all done for records of course, few of the advisors look over them, one noble, my signature as well as Julian's and the priestess and then it goes into the private archives," she said and Xena nodded.

"So it's for approval sake?" Xena said and Marguerite grinned and nodded, "now you're getting the hang of things, we do all of that just to make sure that there isn't any problems, so that no one can contest anything, inside the kingdom or out, and Ithaca runs smoothly; Julian hates when the kingdom is in a disarray." She said and Xena nodded and let out a breath, "so when does all of this begin?" She asked, "your sessions with Lassa start tomorrow and your trip to the healer's is the day after tomorrow," she said and Xena nodded. "Until then we should continue with preparations for the wedding," Marguerite said and Xena let out a breath and nodded. "When is your family coming?" Marguerite asked and Xena looked at her, "the end of next week," she said and Marguerite nodded. "I bet you'll be happy to see them," she said and Xena grinned and nodded. "I will be, I haven't told Ulysses but I've been homesick a couple of times, I really miss them, especially my mother around this time," she said and Marguerite nodded as she placed her hand on her arm.

"I understand completely, I was the same way for my wedding," Marguerite said and Xena grinned at her, "you've been a great help though Marguerite," Xena said and the woman smiled at her. "You did tell Camilla that my mother would see to the food, I talked it over with Marina and she says she doesn't mind that mom helps when she gets here," Xena said and Marguerite nodded. "Well, we're not going to really have seating arrangements, the most important table will be our table," Marguerite said then pulled out a parchment with a drawing on it to show Xena what she had come up with. "In stead of Julian sitting at the head of the table, we're only going to sit on one side of the table. You and Ulysses will be in the middle, Virgil next to him, Camilla next to you and so on. That table will be up on the stage sort of and then Julian and I, along with your mother and will Corrinna be coming?"

Marguerite asked and Xena nodded, "of course, you do know that she and my mother are a couple right?" Xena asked and Marguerite looked at her with shock on her face, "no I didn't know that, they…I never saw…" Marguerite said and Xena grinned and placed a hand on her arm. "You wouldn't see any signs, that kind of love wouldn't be too accepted in Amphipolis, not a lot is accepted in Amphipolis, so they keep it to the privacy of their room and when they're around me and my brothers or others they trust. They probably didn't show it around you because they weren't sure how you would react," Xena said and Marguerite nodded. "That's understandable," she said, "it's not something you hear of around here, I guess people keep that sort of thing under wraps as well but I'm okay with it as I'm sure Julian will be, so they don't have to hide it from us."

Marguerite said and Xena grinned and nodded, "that's good to hear," she said then Marguerite let out a breath. "Back to the wedding, Julian and I, your mother and Corrinna as well as Virgil's parents and a few of the other nobles that we're friends with, will sit at the table with us, but that day will be all about you," she said with a grin and Xena smiled as she nodded. The day passed quickly as Xena and Marguerite went over wedding preparations, Camilla and Clarisse joining them and they wound up having a good time. Two hours after lunch they decided to go and see what progress Ulysses was making in the garden and when they got there, they found Ulysses and Virgil hard at work with moving things around and Ulysses was building a small stone wall, like Xena had asked.

Since the work they were doing was hard, they had their shirts off and a light sheen of sweat covered them. Xena could also see a few of the gardeners tending to something else she had asked for. "Look out, men at work," Marguerite said and Xena smiled as she looked at Ulysses who looked at her as he placed a large stone on his shoulder and carried it over to the wall. Xena was looking at Ulysses, thinking to herself about how good he looked and unnoticed by anyone else, Camilla was checking out Virgil and when he felt eyes on him he looked up but by then Camilla had looked away. "What are you guys doing here?" Ulysses asked as he wiped his hands on a towel as he walked up to Xena, "we were just seeing how things were coming along," Xena said.

"And it looks to me as if they're coming along nicely," she said then looked back at Ulysses or rather over Ulysses' delicious looking body and he grinned at her. "I'm glad you approve," he said and Xena nodded, "did you guys stop for lunch?" She asked and Ulysses nodded as he walked over and picked up a water skin and took a couple of gulps. "Yeah, we ate a while ago," he said and Xena nodded and continued to look over Ulysses before she snapped out of her day dreaming. "Well, I'll see you at dinner," she said and Ulysses grinned and nodded and Xena turned to walk away. "Xena," he called and she turned and looked at him, "I think you're forgetting something," he said and she turned and looked at him.

"And that would be?" She asked and he grinned as he crooked his finger at her and she looked down for a moment before she walked over to him and once she was standing in front of him. He looked into her eyes as he pulled on her dress, pulling her closer to him before he leaned in and kissed her softly and the kiss was a nice, soft, passionate, tasting of lips and when it ended Xena's eyes were still closed and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her and caressed his cheek. "You should be going," he said and Xena opened her eyes and looked into his eyes, "huh," she said and they all laughed at her and she leaned into his chest from embarrassment. "Going, yes, I have things to do," she said then placed a kiss on Ulysses' cheek before she turned and left with the others.

They continued to move on and before anyone knew it, dinner was upon them. Ulysses and Virgil left the garden at the last possible moment and headed to their chambers to take a quick shower and get dressed for dinner. They met up at the dinning hall then walked in and over to the table, "sorry we're late, we had to get cleaned up," Ulysses said as he sat down next to Xena who handed him a glass of wine and he showed his appreciation by leaning in and giving her a sweet kiss. "I hear you've been doing gardening work?" Julian said to his son with a grin and Ulysses grinned at his father, "yes I have, Xena wanted some things done to the garden for the wedding and so I'm seeing to them," he said and Julian nodded.

"Well as long as they don't have you trying on dresses…" Julian said with laughter in his voice and Ulysses chuckled at his father. "I don't think its going to go that far," he said. "Speaking of which," Marguerite said interrupting their friendly banter, "Julian you and Ulysses need to go and see Denise about getting fit for your clothes for the wedding, especially you Ulysses," she said and Ulysses nodded. "I'll do it tomorrow," he said then dove into his plate of food that had been placed right it from of him. "That goes for you too Virgil," Xena said and Virgil groaned, "I hate getting fitted for things," he said, "imagine how I feel, I've been getting fitted for dress all week," she said and he let out a breath and went back to eating.

When dinner was over, they sat there for a while eating dessert and talking amongst themselves just having a good time. When it got later on, one by one they began to excuse themselves, until no one was left at the table. When Xena and Ulysses got back to their chambers, Xena sat down in a chair, kicked off her shoes and let out a breath as she got ready for bed. She grabbed a few things from the desk then flopped down onto the bed and began looking over some of the parchments, some dealing with Athena's temples and others dealing with the wedding. When Ulysses walked into the bedroom from the bath chamber he got ready for bed then got in on his side of the bed letting out a breath as he laid on his back.

"Ulysses," Xena called, "hmm?" He asked as he relaxed his eyes, "your mother informed me today that we have to have daily talks with Lassa until the day before our wedding," she said and he opened his eyes and looked at her. "What for?" He asked, "I guess it's a counseling thing, to make sure marriage is what we want, what we're ready for, that sort of thing," she said and Ulysses let out a breath and closed his eyes. "Okay," he said and Xena nodded, "I'm glad you agree because our first talk, starts tomorrow after lunch," she said and Ulysses groaned and nodded. "I'll be there," he said and Xena nodded. "Also you have to have a medical check up by Pyres as do I, it's required for the records," Xena said and Ulysses nodded.

"Anything else?" He asked, "well, there is one more thing but you're not going to like it," she said and Ulysses opened his eyes and looked at her. "What is it?" He asked and Xena let out a breath as she looked at him, "we have to stop having sex two weeks before our wedding," she said. "What?" He asked as he sat up and Xena sat up as well, "I know, I know but your mother says it has something to do with some kind of purification ritual we have to go through," she said and Ulysses let out a breath and he flopped back down on the bed. "This wedding business is beginning to be a bit much," he said as he brought his hand up and rubbed his temple and Xena leaned over and caressed his chest.

"I know, believe me I know, I never knew there was so much to do for one day," Xena said then placed her hand on Ulysses' cheek and he opened his eyes and looked into her. "But it'll be worth it, on our wedding day to have ever thing perfect and beautiful," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath and nodded. "I guess so," he said then picked up Xena's hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. "I know you told me that you never thought you would get married but you must have dreamed about what your wedding would be like if you got married?" Ulysses asked and Xena let out a breath as she laid there and thought about that, "well it wasn't much really, after all, not even in my wildest dreams did I think I would be marrying a Prince," Xena said with a grin and Ulysses smiled.

"But I always thought it would be a small wedding of course, since I'm not that popular in Amphipolis, of course if I would have married Maphias that might have changed but that's the past. I always dreamed that it would be close family and friends, of course the man I love, Toris and Lyceus would fight about who would give me away, like I'm sure they're going to do when they get here." She said and Ulysses chuckled at that, "we would have it in the back yard of the Inn, flowers lined everywhere and my mother would make my wedding dress. And on my wedding day she would look at me with such pride and happiness in her eyes and I'd know I had finally become the daughter she could be proud of," Xena said and by then she had cuddled closer to Ulysses and he wrapped his arm around her.

"I think she's proud of you now," he said and Xena nodded, "I suppose so," she said then let out a breath. "I just want our wedding to be perfect, I just want it to be the best day ever," she said. "It will be, I promise you that," he said and Xena grinned as she rose up and looked down at Ulysses. "And you always keep your promises," she said and Ulysses grinned as he caressed her cheek, "I do my best, especially when it comes to you, I know I've said it before, but I want to be everything you need, everything you want. Whatever you want, I want to be able to give it to you and whatever you need, I'll make sure I'll give it to you because you're my world Xena, you're my Queen," he said and Xena smiled at that then leaned down and kissed him softly but passionately. "Now," Xena said as she reached behind her for the parchments, "back to wedding stuff," she said and Ulysses grinned as he let out a breath, "everything is basically seen to except for our wedding song and the honeymoon," Xena said.

"I'll take care of both of those," he said and Xena looked at him, "I'll have Virgil take care of the music and I know a song we would both love for our wedding song." He said and Xena nodded, "alright," she said, "as for our honeymoon, you know I have that handled," he said with a grin and Xena smiled back at him. "I have no doubt but will you at least tell me where we're going, what we're doing?" Xena asked and Ulysses rolled Xena onto her back and she smiled as she placed the parchment on the nightstand and Ulysses settled himself between her legs. "Well, my father says he can do without me for a month, so as we speak, I'm having one of our grandest ships prepared for a wonderful trip.

When we leave the reception, we will take a carriage straight to the docks and onto this ship and I know the perfect, beautiful waters where we will sail for a week, have some fun," he said and Xena grinned as she unbuttoned Ulysses' shirt and pulled it off of his shoulders. "Then I thought we'd sail to Italy or would you prefer Egypt," he said and Xena looked at him with surprise in her eyes. "Egypt is good," she said and Ulysses smiled, "then Egypt it is and while we're there we'll get us a nice room at a upscale Inn, do some sight seeing and I'm sure you would like to buy a couple of things," he said and Xena smiled as she rose up and kissed Ulysses. "I love you," she said and he smiled at her then leaned down and kissed her.

The kiss soon turned into something more and they made love that night. The next day, things went as they usually did, they had breakfast and then they went their separate ways, Xena made sure to remind Ulysses of their appointment with Lassa an hour after lunch. He went to check on the progress of the garden then headed to his father's office to see if there was anything his father needed him to do, besides the work he already had to do. When lunch rolled around Xena ate it with the other women, who she was becoming friendly with but she kept a watchful eye on all of them, her past telling her, that she couldn't always trust things or people at face value. When lunch was over Xena made her way over to the temple with two guards following her, that was definitely something she was going to have to get use to.

For Xena, the temple was in walking distance and it took her about twenty minutes to get there. Once there, she walked into the temple, the guards staying outside in respect and as Xena walked in she looked around, she had never been in this temple to Athena but she knew in the future she would be here a lot. "You got that right," Athena said as she appeared in front of Xena who looked at her with a tolerant grin, "what did I tell you about reading my thoughts?" She asked the goddess and Athena looked at her, "well excuse me, I hear everyone's thoughts when they enter my temples, you are no different," she said then walked up to the altar with Xena who placed an offering of flowers and a few coins there.

"I need to ask a favor of you Athena," Xena said as she turned and looked at the goddess who looked back at her. "Ask and I'll see what I can do," she said and Xena nodded. "I would like for you to perform the ceremony," she said and Athena looked at her. "I would be honored Xena," she said and Xena grinned then looked over as Lassa entered from the back room. "Goddess," she said as she bowed to Athena then looked at Xena, "my lady, you're here for our session?" She asked and Xena nodded, "I'm a little early but I felt like taking a walk," Xena said, "that's okay and where is the Prince?" Lassa asked and Xena shook her head, "running late probably, he's never on time," she said with a grin.

"Hey, I resent that," Ulysses said as he walked into the temple and Xena grinned at him as he walked up to her and gave her a brief kiss. "I'm not always late, I just run on a different schedule than everyone else," he said with a grin and Xena smiled at him. "Ulysses this is Athena," she introduced him to the goddess and Ulysses looked at Athena with surprise and awe on his face and in his eyes. "My goddess," he said as he bowed his head in respect and Athena grinned as she raised his head and looked into his eyes. "You need not bow to me Ulysses, I really must thank you though," she said and he looked at her, confusion shown plainly on his face. "Thank me for what?" He asked and she grinned at him, "for making Xena as happy as you do," she said and he smiled at her then looked at Xena before he looked back at Athena.

"It's my pleasure," he said, "I asked Athena to perform our ceremony, if that's okay with you Lassa?" Xena said to the priestess who grinned and nodded, "that's quite alright with me," she said and Xena nodded then looked at Ulysses. "What about you? Are you okay with it?" She asked and he looked at her, "are you kidding? I would be deeply honored if Athena performed our marriage ceremony," he said then looked back at Athena who smiled at them both. "Well, you guys have some talking to do and I have some things to see to," Athena said and with that she was gone. "Wow, I finally got to meet Athena herself, wait until I tell dad," he said and Xena chuckled at him.

"If you two are ready, follow me," Lassa said with a grin of friendliness and from the humor of Ulysses' remark; with that she turned around and headed back into the back room of the temple with Xena and Ulysses following her. They followed her down a hall to a room with huge windows where the light from the beautiful day shined in; there was a sofa and a chair across from the sofa. "Have a seat," Lassa said and they sat down on the sofa next to each other while Lassa closed the door. "Would either of you like something to drink?" She asked and they shook their heads, "thanks, but we're okay," Xena said as she held Ulysses' hand and Lassa nodded as she sat down in the chair. "I assume you know why you're here?" Lassa asked and they nodded, "it's one of the requirements for our marriage," Ulysses said and Lassa nodded.

"It is that but more than anything our time together is to help you prepare for your marriage, the transition from two lives to one." She said and they listened to what she had to say, "what do you think it takes for a marriage to work, for it to stay strong, full of love and life?" Lassa asked and Xena and Ulysses looked at each other before they began to answer, "well, I believe one of the key elements of making a marriage work is communication, nothing can be done without communication, you won't know what your partner is feeling or what they need," Xena said and Lassa nodded then looked at Ulysses. "What about you Ulysses?" She asked and he looked at her as he answered, "well communication is definitely a key element but I also think acceptance is another. In a marriage you have to be able and willing to accept the changes and the challenges there will be.

I mean over the years, we're not going to stay the same, of course we're going to grow in many ways and it's important that we keep up with each other's changes and accept those changes for what they are. After all, a marriage is about making things work and for things to work you need acceptance and compromise," he said and Lassa nodded. "It seems to me as if you two are on the right track," she said and they grinned at each other, "Ulysses tell me what it is that makes you love Xena, that makes you love her so much that you want to marry her," Lassa said and Ulysses let out a breath as he thought about that. "It's a simple yet complicated answer," he said, "just try your best," she said and he nodded.

"Well, what makes me love Xena the way I do is a long list," he said with a grin as he looked at Xena and she grinned at him. "But there's just something about her that pulls to my very core, to my soul. When I look into her eyes, I know I'm home," he said then looked at Lassa, "does that make sense?" He asked and she grinned and nodded, "yes, please go on," she said and he nodded and looked back at Xena. "Xena is unlike any other woman I have ever met, I told her once, while we were taking a walk, that she was a complicated woman and I love that about her." He said, "give me some examples of what you mean," Lassa said and Ulysses nodded. "There are times when she can be so soft, it amazes me and then there are other times when she can be hard, strong, defiant to very end and oh how I love that about her," he said and Xena chuckled at her.

"She can defend herself, quite well as you can imagine, and most men wouldn't approve of that but I don't mind it because her fighting, her training is apart of what makes her, her, frankly, the fact that she can kick my ass, sort of turns me on," he said with a grin and Xena smiled as she pushed him and he looked at her. "And that smile, gods when she smiles it lightens up a room, when she smiles, my world is okay," he said as he placed his hand on his chest while he looked into her eyes. "My world is okay," he said once more then smiled as he thought of other things. "When she looks at me, she makes me feel like I am so important, like I'm the only thing in this world that matters, she makes me feel that I am her world and that just feels my heart with so much love," he said and Xena brought up his hand and kissed the back of it.

"You are my world, my everything," she told him and Ulysses smiled and looked at Lassa who was grinning at them. "And her voice, it's just so silky, it drives me crazy sometimes, I can just lay in bed and she could talk and I would listen for hours on end, just to hear her sweet voice. Or when we make love…" he said then shook his head as he looked at Xena then at Lassa, "there isn't enough time in the world for me to explain to you how I feel when we make love, all I know is that its one of the greatest feelings I have ever felt in this world." He said and Lassa smiled and nodded, "Xena can you tell me what it is about Ulysses, that makes you love him so, that makes you want to marry him?"

Lassa asked and Xena grinned as she thought about that, "I don't even know where to begin," she said then laughed and Ulysses laughed with her. "The main thing that makes me love Ulysses so much is the fact that he loves me for me and that he isn't trying to change me for him or anyone else." She said and Lassa nodded, "and that's important to you?" She asked and Xena nodded, "in Amphipolis I was never really accepted for the life I had chosen to live, the person I had chosen to be, the only people who really accepted me were my family. And then, here came Ulysses, he didn't care about anything," she said and they laughed at that. "All he wanted was to get to know me and even when he knew me, when he knew things that would send other men heading for the hills, he just wanted to know more." She said as she grinned at him and Ulysses smiled back at her, "I was a peasant and as he got to know me, he treated me like a Queen, every girls dream and mine was coming true," she said as she caressed his cheek while looking into his eyes.

"Then there was something about him that just drew me to him, like a moth to a flame, as hard I tried at first to fight it, I couldn't. I kept walls up around my heart from getting hurt again and somehow Ulysses came in and brick by brick he took the wall down and eased his way into my heart until all I knew I was so in love with him, I couldn't live without him," Xena said and Lassa grinned and nodded. "Most importantly, Ulysses chose to give me intimacy rather than sex, at night he would hold me and we would stay up all night sometimes, just talking and holding each other. And when we did reach that point in our relationship where we felt we could give ourselves to one another, he was all I had ever dreamed of; he was my first, he is my last, my everything. He's a great man with a kind heart and I just love him," she said and Lassa nodded.

"Compared to past relationships, you think this one has gone the best?" She asked, "definitely," they answered simultaneously and Lassa grinned. "Obviously or you wouldn't be getting married," she said and they grinned at her, "what do you think went wrong in your past relationships that went right in this one?" She asked, "Well for me, my past relationships were all about sex and conquering, nothing more but when I met Xena I immediately knew that I wanted more than that from her, I wanted to get to know her, inside and out," Ulysses said and Lassa nodded. "Xena?" She asked and Xena let out a breath, "men were more interested in my body than they were of my mind. There was one relationship I had that almost led to marriage," Xena said.

"And what happened?" Lassa asked and Xena let out a breath, "he tried to change me and when he saw that I wouldn't change for him, he left me," she said and Lassa looked at her. "That must have hurt you a lot," she said and Xena nodded, "it did, I suppose that's when I really began to put up those walls, to prevent something like that from ever happening again." She said and Lassa nodded, "that's definitely understandable, no one wants to go through life with getting their heart broken all the time," she said. "That's it," Lassa said and they looked at her, "that's it, that's all?" Ulysses asked and she grinned at him, "that's all for today, we'll meet up again tomorrow at the same time," she said and they nodded, then stood and left, able to find their way back into the temple.

"That wasn't so bad," Xena said as they walked out of the temple, "no it wasn't," he said and on their walk back to the palace they talked and clowned around but when they reached their destination they both went their separate ways, both having work to do. After that, the day passed by fairly quickly and after dinner, Ulysses and Xena were too exhausted to do anything else but sleep so that's what they did. When the next day came, they did their usual, got up, took a shower and got dressed then headed to the dinning hall for breakfast. "Xena you remember you have to see Pyres today?" Marguerite asked and Xena nodded, "yea I remember, though I don't relish the thought," she said. "I'll go with you if that'll make you feel better," Marguerite said and Xena hunched her shoulders, she didn't care either way, she just never really liked going to healers, she saw enough of them when she was a child, thanks to her father, and at that moment she shook her head to get those bad memories out of her head.

"Ulysses, you go and see Pyres tomorrow," his mother told him and he nodded. When breakfast was over, they all had business to see to but a couple of hours later Marguerite and Xena met up to go to Pyres'. Xena getting another tour of a different part of the palace, "this is the healer's wing, our healers stay here as well as recovering patients," Marguerite said and Xena nodded. When they reached the main room, they walked in, "I was just preparing for your arrival," Pyres said as she walked into the room. "Xena this is Pyres, she's the head healer in the palace," Marguerite introduced them to each other. "I here you know a little about healing," Pyres said and Xena nodded, "I know a lot," she said and Pyres nodded.

"Good, then I'm sure you'll know everything I'm going to do today, just things to make sure you're in perfect health," she said and Xena nodded. "Whatever, lets just get this over with, I'm not a big fan of being around healers," Xena said and Pyres nodded. "Right this way," she said and Xena followed Pyres into the next room, where she stripped down like Pyres had asked her to and once that was done Pyres began her exam, from head to toe and finally an hour later, Xena thought she was finished but little did she know. "Well I've checked everything and you're in perfect health," Pyres said and Xena nodded, "who would have thought it," she said, getting edgier and edgier the longer she stayed there.

"Can I get dressed now?" She asked, "I just have one more thing to do," Pyres said and Xena looked at her, "what could that possibly be?" She asked and Pyres asked, "I have to do an exam to make sure you're able to bare children," she said and Xena blinked her eyes at that, "excuse me," she said. "In my report it has to say if you're able to bare children or not," she said and Xena shook her head as she got off of the bed. "I don't think so," she said as she got dressed, "now I have been in here for over an hour, letting you poke and prod me in every place imaginable, I think you have enough information for your report," she said and when she was dressed she headed out of the room. "Xena this has to be done," Pyres said as she followed her and Marguerite stood and looked at them, "what's the problem?"

She asked and Xena looked at her, "you didn't tell me that she had to examine me to tell whether or not I can have children or not," Xena said and Marguerite nodded. "That's part of the work up Xena, it must be done, we have to know if you can provide Ulysses with an heir or not," she said and Xena shook her head. "I'm not doing it, that's a private matter…I'm just…I'm just not doing it," she said and with that she left the room in a hurry and decided she had to go somewhere, anywhere but there, so she headed back to their chambers. When she got there she looked around the room and poured herself a small glass of wine before she walked outside on the balcony and sat down in one of the chairs and just relaxed as she let her thoughts run rampant.

Meanwhile, when Marguerite left the healer's wing she headed straight to find Ulysses and she knew the best place to look was in Julian's office where they both usually were. When she got there she wasn't disappointed, her husband was hard at work at his desk and Ulysses was the same on the sofa, "is there a problem Marguerite, the way you just burst into my office?" Julian asked, "hush up," she told her husband as she waved him off and he shook his head at his wife and Marguerite looked at Ulysses. "Ulysses," she called and he looked at her, "I haven't done Camilla anything, I've been here all morning," he said as he picked up a parchment and placed it to the side. "I'm not here about Camilla, I'm here about Xena," she said and Ulysses looked up at her mother.

"What about Xena?" He asked and Marguerite let out a breath as she told him what happened. "Do you have any idea why she reacted the way she did?" His mother asked and Ulysses shook his head, "no but its not like I would want Pyres looking at my most private parts either," she said, "well she'll be doing that tomorrow," Julian informed his son and Ulysses looked at him. "Are you serious?" He asked and Julian nodded and Ulysses let out a breath, "I hate going to the healers," he mumbled, "something else you and Xena have in common," Marguerite said and Ulysses looked at his mother. "What would you like me to do mother? I can't force her to have the exam done, if she doesn't want it done then she doesn't want it done. What's the big problem?"

He asked and Marguerite let out a breath as she sat down and looked at Julian, "explain it to your son," she said and Julian grinned then looked at Ulysses. "Its like this son, we have to make sure that Xena can provide you with an heir, the next line, so this has to be done, if it isn't then you can't be married and that's law," Julian said and Ulysses let out a breath. "And what happens if she can't provide me with an heir?" He asked and Marguerite and Julian looked at each other, "well more than likely, the heir to the throne would be left up to your sister," Julian said and Ulysses nodded. "I'll go and talk to her," he said and they nodded, he straightened up his things on the sofa. "I have an order to this, don't mess it up," he told his parents who nodded then watched as he left the office.

Ulysses didn't even know where to begin looking for Xena so he went back to their chambers and hoped she would be there. When he got there Gemini greeted him and he grinned at the wolf, "is your mommy here?" He asked Gemini who bounced up and down then turned in circles before she headed into the bedroom. "I'll take that as a yes," Ulysses said to himself and walked into the bedroom but he didn't see Xena, he did however, see that the patio doors were open so that's where he went and he found Xena sitting there sipping on a glass of wine which was unusual for her. "Your mother sent you?" Xena asked, knowing Ulysses was there and he grinned as he walked out onto the balcony and stood in front of Xena, leaning against the railing.

"Yea, she doesn't understand why you don't want to have the exam done, to tell you the truth I don't understand it either," he said and Xena let out a breath as she took a gulp of wine. "It's not for you to understand, it's for you guys to accept and leave it alone," Xena said as she looked into Ulysses' eyes and he looked into hers. "Hey, this is me," he said as he placed his hand on his chest, "the love of your life, don't go throwing those walls back up, it took a lot of hard work getting them down," he said and Xena let out a breath as she leaned her head back. "Xena you have to learn how to let me in, instead of blocking me out every time you think something you know, I'll hurt you with it, you know I won't do that, you know that, you know me," he said and Xena let out a breath as she closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

"I know," she said, "well then tell me what's wrong," he said and Xena let out a breath as she stood and approached Ulysses, "I've never told you about my father because the memories are just too painful for me," Xena said as she stood in front of Ulysses and he nodded. "I can understand that," he said and Xena let out a breath, "my father was a drunk, a miserable drunk at that, when he would come home from battles he would use up all the money mother had made to buy ale. We tried to stay out of his way and off of his bad side when he was drunk but sometimes that was just impossible," she said then swallowed hard. "Most times he beat on my mother and other times he beat on me," she said and Ulysses took Xena's hand in his trying to provide her with some comfort, that she was grateful for.

He never beat on Toris or Lyceus and they tried their best to protect mother and I but sometimes their best wasn't enough. I don't know what it was about me but I always seemed to anger him so and at those times he would beat me terribly." She said and her mind went back to those times and she wiped away a stray tear as she continued telling Ulysses, "Corrinna was always there to patch us up, that's how I began to learn about healing. A couple of times my mother put my father out but he would eventually come back, always claiming that he had changed but I knew better and I thought mother did but I guess she was blinded by love." She said then swallowed hard as she got to the really hard part, "one day, I went for a walk and I didn't know it but he was following me. I went down to the stream to take a swim and afterwards I dried off and just let my feet dangle in the water.

He surprised me when he came from behind a tree and in the back of my mind I had been wondering if he had been standing there watching me the whole time. I didn't say anything and he just came and sat down next to me and we talked, at first I thought everything was okay but my gut knew otherwise. It happened so fast, I wasn't even sure it happened but…but he leaned in and kissed me," Xena said then looked down and Ulysses could tell this story was getting harder and harder for her to tell and he wanted to tell her that's okay, she could stop, but a part of him needed to know this.

"When he kissed me I was in shock but when I realized what was happening I pushed him away then stood. He stood and looked at me and at first sorrow and regret filled his eyes and then anger filled them, anger like I had never seen and before I knew what happened he lashed out at me and punched me so hard I fell to the ground." Xena wiped her face of the tears that had fallen as she continued to tell her story, "he grabbed me by my blouse and picked me up and punched me again and again and again. When I fell to the ground again, I tried to crawl away and all I could hear was his laughter and then there was this loud crack. He caught up to me and kicked me onto my back and I saw that he had a tree limb in his hand and all I had time to do was raise my arms to protect my face as he began to beat me with it.

I tried to fight back but it was no use, he finally hit me so hard with the branch that it broke and it seemed that he got mad at that and he began to kick and beat me, I begged him to stop, I begged him…" Xena said unable to go on and Ulysses just embraced her so that she could feel the comfort and safety of his arms. She cried into his chest from a pain long ago but it was just as strong as though it had happened yesterday. When her tears had lessened up she continued to hold onto Ulysses, "I think that day, he scared even himself because we never saw him again but he left me there, beaten, bloodied and bruised. At first I crawled and then some where I found the strength to get up and walk, or barely walk in my condition. I took the back way to Corrinna's and she fixed me up but there was a lot of internal damage, especially to my stomach."

Xena said then let out a breath as she walked back into the bedroom, "when I had healed up all the way she examined me and told me that there was a lot of scarring to my womb and that it could be possible that I might not be able to conceive," Xena said as she sat down on the bed and Ulysses sat down next to her. "So that's why you don't want Pyres to examine you?" Ulysses asked and Xena nodded, "what if she tells me that I can't give you children? That I can't give you an heir to the throne? Ulysses that would hurt me so much," Xena said as she placed her hand on her chest and he nodded as he took her hand. "I know it's a scary thought Xena but if you can't give me a child, it won't be the end of the world, I'm not going to say oh you're barren and I'm not going to marry you."

He said then shook his head, "we haven't really talked about children but having a child with you would be nice but if we couldn't have children that's okay. There are other alternatives and as for an heir, it would be left up to Camilla to carry on the line, which I'm sure she would," he said with a grin and Xena nodded. "Have faith Xena," he said then stood with her hand in his and she stood with him, "I'll go with you for the exam," he said and Xena looked into his eyes and nodded and that's what they went and did. As Xena lay on the bed while Pyres prepared everything all she could do was pray that she would be able to give Ulysses children. He sat in a chair by the bed holding her hand and caressing her hair, "you ready?" Pyres asked Xena who let out a breath and nodded, "okay, relax," she said and Xena closed her eyes when she felt Pyres' fingers gently enter her.

Ulysses continued to caress Xena's hair as Pyres propped around, "okay I'm going to push down hard," Pyres told Xena as she rose up a little off of her stool to press down hard against Xena and at the same time she pushed down on Xena's lower abdomen. "Ssss," Xena hissed as she squeezed Ulysses' hand, the intense pressure becoming a little much for her to handle. "I'm almost done," Pyres said and Xena just had her eyes closed as she nodded and a minute later Pyres was done and she eased her fingers out of Xena and began to wash them of while Xena sat up in the bed. "I felt none of the scarring you spoke of Xena, it could be that over time it healed itself but you're perfectly capable of bearing children and with your hips, I'd say you'll be giving Ulysses a couple of sons," Pyres said with a grin and Xena grinned then smiled as she looked at Ulysses.

"See, having a little faith helps sometimes," he said and Xena smiled as she leaned in and kissed Ulysses passionately. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes, "I love you," Xena said with a smile as she caressed his cheek and Ulysses smiled back. "And I you," he said then placed a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you Pyres," Xena said and the healer grinned and nodded, "my pleasure," she said to Xena who had gotten up and started getting dressed. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow Ulysses," she said and Ulysses grimaced and nodded before he and Xena left the healer's wing. "If you're okay, I have to head back to my father's office to get some work done before we go and see Lassa," Ulysses said and Xena nodded and walked up to Ulysses and kissed him passionately. "I'm good," she said and he looked at her and grinned as he shook her head, "you're bad, that's what you are, giving me a kiss like that, now I won't be able to concentrate," he said and Xena smiled and winked at him before they each turned and left.

The fact that she could give Ulysses children was definitely a load off of her mind, she really didn't have much to do, so she changed her clothes and went down to the training grounds where the soldiers were more than happy to see her and she sparred with some of them while she showed others moves. She even had lunch with them and found that she really enjoyed their company and when it came time for her to go to the temple, she got cleaned up and walked over there, meeting Ulysses half way. "And where have you been?" He asked and Xena grinned, "I decided to take a break from wedding planning and went down to the training grounds, I actually had a great time with the soldiers," she said and Ulysses nodded. "You don't mind that I hang out with them do you?" She asked him and Ulysses shook his head, "no not really, just as long as they know to keep their hands to themselves," he said with possessiveness in his voice and jealousy in his eyes.

"I love when you get jealous," she said as she shook his face then leaned in and kissed him softly before she placed her hand on his arm and they continued their walk to the temple. When they got there they went straight to the room they were in before and sat down on the sofa and waited for Lassa. They only had to wait a couple of minutes before Lassa walked into the room, "how are you two today?" Lassa asked, "we're doing good," Xena said as she and Ulysses continued to hold hands. "I heard you had a little excitement today," Lassa said as she situated herself in her chair, "news sure does travel fast around here," Xena said, "too fast sometimes," Ulysses said as he relaxed and placed his arm on the back of the sofa.

"Would either of you care to tell me about it?" Lassa asked and Xena let out a breath, "how about another time?" Ulysses asked Lassa, seeing that Xena was uncomfortable with the subject at hand. "No, its okay," she said as she looked at Ulysses, "I realized today that I can't keep things locked up all the time, that I have to deal with them," she said to him and he looked into her eyes and nodded. "My childhood wasn't exactly a happy childhood, I had an abusive father, a very abusive father. He was a solider or is still one, we don't know where he is now or even if he's still alive," Xena said and Lassa nodded telling her to continue and Xena let out a breath as she leaned forward.

"When he came home from wars and battles he would spend the money mother had made in the Inn on ale and just get drunk. Most of the time he beat on my mother and sometimes he beat on me. We tried to stay out of his way and keep him happy but sometimes it just didn't work, sometimes, I guess, he just felt the need to hit us." Xena said as she hunched her shoulders while reliving the painful memories of her childhood. "He never hit my brothers though and they did their best to try and protect us but…" Xena said then shook her head as she let out a breath and looked around the room for a minute and Ulysses just placed a comforting hand on her back to let her know that he was there.

"When I was fourteen he followed me to the lake where I decided to go swimming but I had this feeling that someone was following me, then I knew nothing about listening to my instincts, so I just ignored the feeling since I didn't see anyone. When I was finished swimming I dried off and sat on the bank and just looked out at the water and all of a sudden he came out of no where and he came and sat down next to me," Xena said and her voice had gone into this dreamy type voice as she described to them what happened but to her it seemed as if she were reliving that moment precisely at that time.

"He sat there and he talked to me and I just listened, I didn't say anything for fear that I would upset him and he would hit me. Then all of a sudden he leaned in and kissed me and for a moment I was shocked, I couldn't believe that my father, the man who had a part in giving me life was kissing me. When that registered in my mind, I roughly pushed him away and for a split second I saw regret and sorrow in his eyes and just as fast as it came, it left and an intense anger filled his eyes. Before I had time to react he began hitting me, punching and slapping me," Xena said then inhaled as she ran her fingers through her hair as she relieved that painful moment.

"I tried and tried to get away but it seemed as if he was a quick as Hermes and as powerful as Zeus. He broke a thick branch off of the tree and he beat me with it until finally…I guess, he had beaten all the anger out of himself. Through my bloody and bruised eyes I remember seeing him standing there above me looking down at me, breathing hard, he looked at the branch in his hands and looked at the blood, my blood that covered his hands and clothes. He threw the branch in the river and walked away, leaving me there, bloody and bruised."

Again, Xena was silent for a moment and Ulysses looked at her as well as Lassa, "perhaps we should finish this later," Lassa suggested and Xena snapped out of whatever trance she was in and looked at the priestess. "I'm alright," she said then let out a breath and continued her story, "I just laid there for a while, I think I lost consciousness and when I woke up then sun was beginning to set and even though I was in so much pain I began to crawl my way back to the Inn and when I felt that I had enough strength I stood with the help of tress and limbs and I limped my way back.

I took the back way to our healer, Corrinna, and she tended to me. I was unconscious for a couple of days and when I woke up, my mother was next to me. I hadn't been able to tell Corrinna much when I got there, I think I just muttered the words Atrius and she knew what happened. My mother told me that my father hadn't been back since that day and since then we haven't seen him or heard from him. My brothers swore if they ever saw him again they would beat him to death. Corrinna told me I had a lot of internal damage, especially to my stomach.

It took months but when I had finally recovered she examined me thoroughly and everything was fine except for the fact that there was a lot of scarring to my womb and she told me and my mother that it would be next to impossible for me to conceive if at all." Xena said then looked at Ulysses, "I should have told you that, it wasn't right for me to keep it from you," she said with pain in her eyes and Ulysses placed his hand on hers. "I understand why you didn't tell me and it's alright, it's alright," he said, saying it's alright for more than her not telling him about the scarring but also about her father and to let her know that everything was alright and if it wasn't than it was going to be, because he was going to make sure of that.

"The excitement today was had to do with the fact that I didn't want Pyres to examine that part of me because I was afraid that she would confirm what Corrinna had told me." Xena said and Ulysses wrapped his arm around Xena's shoulder pulling her into his arms, "and did she?" Lassa asked and Xena looked at the priestess and shook her head as a lone tear fell from her eyes, "Pyres said that there wasn't any scarring at all and given my wide hips I would be able to give Ulysses many sons," Xena said with a grin and Ulysses grinned as he placed a kiss on her forehead and she just let out a breath as she leaned into him, seeking that safety and comfort she felt when she was in his arms.

"And is that important to you Xena, to provide Ulysses with children?" Lassa asked and Xena let out a breath as she sat up then looked at Ulysses. "We've never really talked about children," she said and Ulysses shook his head as he looked at Lassa. "But…if we both wanted children…" Xena said then looked back at Ulysses to see what his perception on having children was. "I guess we assumed that was something we would talk about later in our marriage," Ulysses said and Xena nodded then looked at Lassa, "but yes, it is important to me to be able to have children, to bare Ulysses' children, to give him an heir, a son, the next line and ruler of Ithaca," Xena said and Lassa nodded.

"And why is it you guys have never talked about having children?" Lassa asked and they looked at each other and hunched their shoulders, "the subject never really came up I guess," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Do either one of you want children?" She asked, "somewhere along the line, yes I would like to have a child," Xena said then looked at Ulysses waiting for his answer. "The same thing for me I suppose, I mean I've never really thought about having children one way or the other. Its just a thought that's never entered my mind, I guess I'd have to think more on it but I don't see a problem with having children," he said then after a minute of thinking about it he grinned.

"I would actually like to be a father one day," he said and Xena grinned at him. "So, it seems that there was a bit of excitement today," she said, "mainly Xena dealing with her past pains and letting you, Ulysses, into that part of her life that's so painful for her." Lassa said and both Xena and Ulysses let out breaths and smiled at each other, "it has been a trying day," Xena said and Ulysses grinned. "How about we talk about something a little more cheerful now?" Lassa suggested and they grinned and nodded. "That would be much appreciated," Xena said with a grin and Lassa grinned, "I know that was painful for you, it is always painful for us to relive a painful part of our past but when we do, when we deal with what has happened and when we accept it, it releases a burden we have been carrying around."

Lassa said as she looked at Xena who nodded, "yea I do feel…like a load has been lifted off of my shoulders," Xena said with a grin and Lassa grinned back. "And its easier to go into a marriage with less problems, you know, you can't go into a marriage with your problems, past or present," Lassa said pointing her hand in Xena's direction. "And you can't go into a marriage with your problems," she said to Ulysses, "because all of those problems, the ones that are hidden and not so hidden, will come together," she said, using her hand as an example as she intertwined her fingers.

"And then you have one big problem and as your marriage moves on, that big problems breaks into little problems and before you know it, you're in an argument every day or every other day and your marriage becomes miserable and you don't want that," Lassa said, "no we don't," Ulysses said and Xena nodded, agreeing with him. "That's why talking with me or another priestess is recommended, believe it or not, its not to torture you," she said with a grin and they grinned back, "but its to help you and especially because you two will be next to rule and how can you even begin to handle the problems of the kingdom and other kingdoms when you can't even begin to handle your own?"

Lassa asked, "you're right," Xena said, "I never really thought about it that way, I just always thought that this was something to make the marriage process more difficult," Ulysses said and Lassa shook her head. "Not at all, you must be aware that we offer our services to anyone, any couple who needs to talk and work out problems that they believe can't be worked out among themselves. Marriage is a most sacred bond not to be taken lightly, so if you feel that you can't go into a marriage, into this binding of one with your all, then you should step back and take a look at what's wrong."

Lassa said and they listened intensely to her, "in a marriage you're equal, and you're equal because you're each a half of a whole," she said, "isn't that what those necklaces symbolize?" Lassa asked and they both simultaneously brought their hands up to their necklaces and nodded. "Now if you go into a marriage not giving all of yourself then that can't possibly make a whole," she said and they both nodded as Lassa spoke some deep but truthful things to them about what they were about to get into. "You can not go into a marriage not giving all of yourself because one, its wrong and its hurtful that the person you are marrying is giving you all of themselves but you refuse to do the same. And two, its going to create problems because for whatever reason you chose not to give all of yourself, its going to come out and its going to hurt your marriage."

Lassa said then stood and went over to a shelf and pulled out two scrolls and walked back over to Xena and Ulysses. "You two think you know what a marriage is all about, what it takes to keep it working, then I want you to read this, they're both the same, just one for both of you," she said as she handed the scrolls to them then went back to her seat. "Read that, discuss it together and if you find that you can't do just one of those things then you're not ready for marriage," Lassa said and then looked at her and nodded. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," Lassa said and they nodded and stood and in silence they left the room and the temple.

They walked in silence back to the palace and when they reached their chambers they went in and Xena sat down on the sofa. "You have anything else to do today?" Ulysses asked Xena and she looked up at him, "yea but it can wait," she said then began unrolling the scroll. "Yea, I have work to do but I'm going to read this," he said and Xena nodded and Ulysses walked over to her and kissed her softly before he left the room and went to his father's office, grateful that his father wasn't there. He sat down on the sofa and looked at the work he had to do but then he looked at the scroll in his hand and decided this was more important. He let out a breath as he began to unroll the scroll and began reading.

**Ten Keys in Making a Marriage Work**

**Love:** For there to be a marriage there must be love, for there even to be a commitment, there must be love. However, love means more than just the feeling you get when looking at that special person. It means accepting the person for who they are, their good and bad qualities. When one is sick you take care of them, when one is sad you do everything in you can to make them happy. When one has a problem, then it's your problem because you are one, that's what marriage is all about, becoming one and staying one. You can't be selfish in anyway and not think of your partner. Love in a marriage means giving your all, your heart, your body, soul and be willing to lend your mind whenever needed. Love is the first key in making and keeping a good marriage.

**Trust:** Trust is the second Key. If you don't trust your partner with all your heart, then what good is the love you have for them; without trust there can be no love. You must trust your partner completely in everything that they do. Trust in decisions that is made, actions that are taken, words that are spoken. Trust is a fundamental key, because without it, how can any relationship work, how can any survive, suspicion and mistrust.

**Honor:** Above all things, honor your partner. Honor your partner because they are worth that honor. They are worth the time you spend with them, the money you spend on them, they are worth all the times you think about them. Your partner is worthy of your honor and vise versa. For a marriage to work, you are to honor your partner like they are the most important thing in the world because in that union, they are, nothing outside the union of marriage matters, just the two people who create the union.

**Respect:** Love, Trust and Honor are but three of the most important things in making a marriage work but respect also goes with those things. What kind of love is there without respect? None. You can't trust a person whom you don't respect because if you respected them then there would be no issue concerning trust. How can you honor a person if you don't respect them? You can't. Respect is essential inside the marriage and out. In a marriage the partners must respect each other, otherwise it could lead to problems such as distrust, dishonor, unloyalty and other host of things. To respect someone, means to be fair, it means to accept and that is definitely needed in any relationship and especially in a marriage.

**Communication:** There very well can't be a relationship, let alone a marriage without communication. Communication in a marriage keeps things flowing like they should. Communication of feelings is especially important because it is important for you to know what you partner is feeling and for your partner to know what you are feeling. Without communication, problems can occur, such as disrespect and lying. Communication keeps things open so that you always know what is going on with your partner and they know what is going on with you.

Ulysses was sitting there reading the scroll and as he read it he began to think about some of what he was reading. Back in their chambers Xena had reached Acceptance and Openness and she knew from recent experiences that they had one covered but not the other but Ulysses had promised to work on that. Xena let out a breath as she continued to read and she continued to think, wondering if they were really ready for such a huge responsibility.

**Acceptance and Openness:** Accepting your partner is crucial in a relationship and especially a marriage. You must accept the person for who they are and for whatever they may choose to do with their lives. Acceptance is most important because as the years go on, your both are going to change, communication will keep you up on those changes, and you both should accept the changes in the other. If you can't accept the person for who they are then how can you continue to love, trust, honor and respect them. Acceptance is as crucial as love, because without one there can't be the other. Openness goes with communication. In order to communicate you must be willing to be open. Openness also goes with acceptance because you have to be open to accept the changes in your partner. In a marriage both have to be open with their feelings, their likes and dislikes, you need to be open to whatever is going on.

**Loyalty:** Loyalty is definitely important. You need to be loyal to your partner because in a marriage you have sworn to forsake all others and that is not a bond that should be taken lightly when considering to break it. However, loyalty refers not only to sex but also just in general. Loyalty means staying on and at each other's side no matter what. Through sickness and health, through good times and bad, for richer or poorer, you should always be there. Loyalty means being there for your partner even when they're wrong in a situation; just being there shows loyalty.

**Compromise:** There must be compromise in a relationship. If you can't compromise with each other then there's a problem. Compromise means being able to give up something you want just to see your partner happy. It means doing something you don't want to do but you know needs to be done and your partner can't see to it. Compromising can save a marriage just by compromising to spend time with each other doing different things, something that one likes and another that the other likes.

**Surrender:** People always mistake surrendering to surrendering their will but that's not all it means. In a relationship, surrender simply means sometimes giving in to something the other needs or wants. Surrender can refer to acceptance, surrendering and ultimately accepting changes that have been made. Surrender should be the easiest key of all because after all you had to surrender your heart to someone else, you surrendered it to the one you have chosen to be your partner for life and you trust them to keep your heart safe. If you haven't surrendered your heart completely to that person, then how can you say you love them with all of your heart? You can't. Surrendering is easy, yet it's hard because it also requires trust and again if you don't have trust then how can you have love.

**Forgiveness:** Forgiveness is most important because you need forgiveness in a relationship. Forgiveness is an elemental key because no one is perfect we all make mistakes and in a marriage in any relationship, mistakes will be made but you will learn how to forgive them. Forgiveness will be needed when you or your partner lies, when there is distrust, disrespect, unwillingness to compromise, lack of communication and openness and a breach of loyalty. Forgiveness is crucial because if you can't forgive someone for what they've done then you can't move on and eventually that ruins a relationship and ultimately a marriage. So forgive and move on, that's the best action that can be taken if you want your marriage to survive.

When Xena was finished reading the scroll she sat it to the side then stood and decided to go for a walk, Gemini right at her side as she did so. The scroll had enlightened Xena to some things, things she needed to think about, things she wondered if she was ready for. The garden had become her favorite place and even though it was being worked on for the wedding she went and took a walk to help her think about all she had read and a part of her wondered if Ulysses was ready for any of those things. She knew some they had down pat and others they knew nothing about, at least she knew nothing about them so she wasn't sure if she could do them or not.

She reached the pond and just sat on the bank and looked out at the still water as she let her thoughts consume her. When Ulysses was finished reading he had the same doubts as Xena had and instead of him taking a walk he did some exercising which always helped him think. Before either of them knew it, dinner time had snuck up on them but neither of them were in the mood for eating with the family. So Xena had dinner sent to their room and when Ulysses walked into the room Xena was preparing the table for a candle light dinner.

"You're back early, I was going to surprise you with a candle light dinner," Xena said with a grin as she walked up to Ulysses who grinned as he leaned in and kissed her softly. "Thank you," he said, "you're welcome," she said as she looked into his eyes then at his appearance, "why are you so sweaty?" She asked and Ulysses let out a breath as he walked over to a chair and sat down. "I had some things on my mind so I did some exercising," he said and Xena nodded. "Would those things be what that scroll contains?" Xena asked and he looked at her, "you read it all too?" He asked and Xena nodded, "yea, and I needed time to think too so I went for a walk in the garden," she said and Ulysses nodded and all was silent as Ulysses began to undress so that he could take a shower.

"I think we should talk about it, I mean some of those things on there or things we really have to consider if we're able and ready to do," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "After dinner," he said as he looked up at Xena and she looked into his eyes and nodded, "I'm going to take a shower," he said and Xena nodded and watched him leave and she walked out onto the balcony and looked out at the city and let out a breath. Soon, dinner was brought to the room and sat up on the table and shortly afterwards Ulysses was out of the shower and he put on a pair of pants and a shirt before he sat down at the table where Xena was already sitting.

"Thanks for having dinner brought here, I wasn't really in the mood to have dinner with the others," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "I know what you mean," she said and from that point on, they ate but barely said anything which was unusual for them but considering what they both had on their minds, no one could blame them. When they had finished dinner and dessert, servants came and collected the dishes and Ulysses and Xena moved to the fur in front of the fireplace with their glasses of wine and they both sat there and stared into the flame before Xena finally broke the silence. "You know, one of us should really say something," Xena said with a grin to break the tension and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her and they fell back into the silence.

"Of the ten, which ones do you think we don't have and which ones do you think we need to work on?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him and she let out a breath, "well to be honest with you Ulysses I think we have them all, there are just some we have to work on." She said and he nodded, "like what?" He asked and Xena looked at him, "communication, surrender and openness." She said and Ulysses looked at her, "I wouldn't have thought communication," he said. "It shouldn't have taken me this long to tell you about my father and I shouldn't have had to find out from a concubine about that part of yourself you don't show." She said and Ulysses nodded as he looked down, "true," he said and she looked at him. "Be honest, you were never going to tell me about that part of yourself were you?"

Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her, he looked into her eyes and told the truth, "no," he said and Xena let out a breath and looked into the flames of the fire. "At least not until we had been married for a while," he said. "But that wouldn't have been fare to me Ulysses," Xena said and he looked at her, "I know but…" he said then shook his head before he ran his fingers through his hair. "I just didn't know how to tell you, I wasn't sure if you were ready for it and I wasn't sure if you would accept that part of me. I…I was afraid," he said and Xena looked at him. "Look at me," she said and he looked at her, "I accept you, every last inch of you, I love you Ulysses, how can I not accept you especially when you love and accept me."

She said and Ulysses nodded, "I guess that's where openness and surrender comes in," he said and Xena nodded. "That's what you were thinking so hard about?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded, "we have all the others, its just those three that we need to work on and two of those are mainly on my part," he said and Xena shook her head as she took his hand in her. "No, we are one, we will work on this together," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and nodded. "I love you Xena and I hope you know I've trusted you with my heart and I trust you with my life and I'll trust you with Ithaca's well being. I honor you," he said then grinned as he kissed the back of her hand, "I worship you like a goddess," he said and she smiled at him.

"We always compromise, I love it when we compromise in fun ways, like a pillow fight," he said and she laughed at that. "We forgive each other all the time, you know I am loyal to you to my death and even after, you're all that I'll ever want. And I respect you, with all that I am I respect you," he said as he looked into her eyes and Xena just smiled as she leaned forward and kissed him softly. "Likewise," she said then leaned in and kissed him again and when the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes as Xena caressed Ulysses' cheek. "When will you let me in to that part of you Ulysses?" She asked and he looked into her eyes, "you've shared women with Virgil I know, if you want to share me with him you can," she said and he looked into her eyes and shook his head.

"I can, I want you to, show me all of you," she told him and Ulysses looked into her eyes and saw that she meant it and that meant so much to him that he just leaned in and kissed her passionately and when the kiss ended he looked into her eyes as his hand was against her cheek. "Thank you for accepting me, for accepting what I know can't be easy," he said then looked down for a minute. "But I don't want to share you with Virgil or any other man or woman, I just want you, I just want you," he said and when she looked into his eyes she saw that he meant that and she grinned as she leaned into him. "Then let me in," she whispered to him as she ran her fingers through his hair and he grinned as he caressed her cheek.

"You're a persistent woman," he said and Xena smiled at him, "and you didn't know that?" She asked and he laughed at her, "oh I knew it, I knew it," he said then let out a breath. "Here comes the compromising part," he said with a grin and Xena grinned back, "how about on our honeymoon, I show you that part of me," he said and Xena grinned as she bit down on her lower lip. "I'd rather have all of you on our honeymoon," she said and Ulysses smiled at her as he leaned in, "oh you will, you most definitely will," he said then kissed her passionately. As they kissed Xena pushed Ulysses back until he was leaning on his forearms and she began to unbutton his shirt.

"Ummm," Ulysses moaned as he ran his hand over her back pulling her closer. Just as things were beginning to get heated, there was a knock at the door and they both groaned. "Maybe whoever it is will go away," Xena said and they waited then lowered their heads when they heard another knock. "I'll go see who it is," he said and Xena nodded as she got up and Ulysses got up and went into the sitting room to answer the door. "We just wanted to make sure you two were okay?" Julian said to his son and Ulysses nodded as he opened the door so that his parents could come in.

"Yea we're fine, Xena and I talked and she went to the healer and she can have children, I'm sure all of the specifics are in Pyres' report," Ulysses said and Julian nodded. "It is but we still wanted to make sure that Xena was okay," Marguerite said, "she was really upset," his mother said and Ulysses nodded. "We worked it out, it had something to do with her father, he used to beat her and her mother," he said and Marguerite nodded. "I remember her mentioning something like that to us," she said and Julian nodded. "But she's okay, we worked it out some more with Lassa," Ulysses said and Julian grinned, "see, she's great to talk to, especially since you guys are about to get married," Julian said and Ulysses nodded.

"Can't argue with you there dad," he said and Julian placed his hand over his heart, "be still my heart, I've found something that my son won't argue with me over," he said and Ulysses and Marguerite smiled. "Yea, yea, don't get use to it," he said and Julian laughed at him. "The work on the sofa I didn't finish today because I got really sidetracked with something Lassa gave us but I'll finish it tomorrow," Ulysses said and Julian nodded. "Take your time, I know this is an important and busy time in your life," Julian said and Ulysses grinned as he looked at his father.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my father?" Ulysses asked and Julian smiled as he pushed his son, "I can add more work to that if you like?" Julian asked and Ulysses shook his head, "I'm fine," he said and Julian nodded. "We'll see you guys in the morning for breakfast," Marguerite said as they began to leave and Ulysses nodded and placed a kiss on his mother's cheek. "Good night," he said and they bid him goodnight just before he closed the door and locked it. He walked back into the bedroom, stopping just inside because there was no light except for the fire place.

"Are your parents gone?" Xena asked as she walked from around the bed and Ulysses noticed she was wearing her robe. "Yea they're gone," he said as he walked further into the room until he was standing in front of Xena, "good," she said as she finished unbuttoning his shirt and pushed it off of his shoulders and he threw it into a near by chair. "I have you all to myself now," she said as she ran her hands over his chest before she leaned in and placed soft kisses all over and Ulysses closed his eyes at the touch of her hands and lips.

She slowly moved her way up to his neck and Ulysses bit down hard on his lip as she found his spot and began kissing, licking and sucking on it. Even though Ulysses was trying to not show that he liked that Xena could tell by the way his fingers dug into her back and he unknowingly pulled her closer. "Mmmm," she moaned as she sucked on that spot and around it as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Uhhh," Ulysses moaned because after he heard Xena moan that was a wrap and she smiled as she continued her exploration of his neck. "Xe," Ulysses called ten minutes later and she was still busy with his neck, "hmmm?"

She answered and just as he was about to say something she hit another spot and all his mouth did was open wide in pleasure. When she was finished with that spot he was breathing hard, he licked his lips and undid Xena's robe and ran his hands inside and he moaned at her warm, soft skin. "Xe," he said again, this time making sure she had moved away from his spot, "hmmm?" She answered once again not intending to come up from her delightful task, "I think…I think I need to lay down," he stuttered out then moaned as she found another spot. _'Where does she find these places?'_ Ulysses asked himself then ran his hands over Xena's thighs.

After a couple of minutes she pulled back from his neck and leaned in and softly tasted his lips and this action made him whimper and it made Xena grin. When the kiss ended she looked into his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair, "show me something new tonight," she said as she ran her hands over his chest and down, down they went until she was caressing the bulge in his pants. "Whatever you want," he said and Xena smiled as she leaned back in and kissed Ulysses and that kisses started off soft but soon became passionate. Ulysses pulled the robe off of Xena's body then swooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed where he laid her down.

He took off his pants and got in the bed, laying between Xena's legs and they slowly began to make love to each other. Ulysses kissed Xena's entire body, spending most of his time on her breasts and between her thighs where she came twice from the things he was doing with his mouth and Xena definitely returned the favor. An hour later, they were sharing a passionate kiss while Ulysses thrust deep into Xena while he caressed her thigh. When the kiss ended they were both breathless and Xena had her hand on Ulysses' cheek as they looked into each other' eyes, "Unnnngh," she moaned then closed her eyes and bit down on her lower lip.

Ulysses leaned down into Xena's neck as he moaned while he began to thrust harder and a little faster. "Unnnghh…oh Ulysses," Xena moaned as she held on tightly to his back and Ulysses moaned as he ran his hand over her thigh while moaning into her neck. Xena rose her head some and began kissing and sucking on Ulysses' shoulder and neck, making her way up to his ear where she sucked on the earlobe. "Show me a new position," she whispered in his ear and Ulysses nodded then kissed Xena passionately and he thrust into her a couple more times before he pulled out and was on his knees. "Roll over and get on your hands and knees," he told her and Xena looked at him then did as he said.

Once she was in that position he moved up behind her, and opened her legs a little wider. "Relax," he told her as he caressed her butt and her thighs. He then spread her cheeks open so that he had a total view of her sex and Xena moaned as she felt the cool air hit her most private places. Ulysses saw how wet she was and he licked his lips and couldn't stop himself as he leaned down and tasted that gloriousness. "Unnngh," Xena moaned as she leaned her head down between her arms and Ulysses moaned as he ran his tongue every where imaginable and used his lips to suck on the greatest places.

He lad a slap to Xena's cheek and jumped at that but also moaned as she realized that sting of pain sent shocks of pleasure through her. Ulysses squeezed the flesh of her butt as he continued to eat her out and he once more slapped her butt and Xena moaned as she pushed into Ulysses and he grinned as he pulled back. _'You like that'_ he thought to himself, "you ready?" He asked and Xena nodded, "more than ready," she said and Ulysses nodded as he took his erect cock into his hand and guided it to her entrance where he teased her for a couple of moments. Finally, he pushed into her and Xena's mouth and eyes opened wide in surprise, "Un…Unnnngh," Xena cried out and Ulysses moaned as he began a slow and steady rhythm to let her get use to the feel of him being so deep in her.

"Ummm…I'm so deep, can you feel me?" Ulysses moaned then tilted his head back and moaned as he held on to Xena's waist and thrust into her, and as he sped up, multiple moans and cries came from Xena. _'Gods this feeling is amazing…oooh'_ Xena thought to herself as she gripped the sheets tightly. After a couple of minutes Ulysses slowed down his thrusts and Xena moaned as she pushed back on to him surprising him, "Oohhhh…Unnnngh," Ulysses moaned as he held onto Xena's waist as she pushed back on him hard and fast, constant cries coming from her mouth.

After five minutes of that he stopped her and took control again and was giving it to Xena for all he was worth, sweat covering his body and hers. Soon, Xena's arms gave out and she laid down on the bed and Ulysses followed her. He laid down on her back and continued to thrust into her, "feels good huh?" He asked her and she cried out into the sheets then turned her head to the side so that she could breathe. "Oohhhh…Ulysses," she moaned and he moaned as he leaned down more and kissed her then kissed her back. He held himself up on one hand and used his other hand to caress her back as he slowed his thrusts down to deep, penetrating thrusts that had Xena whimpering.

"Ohhh…Uhhhh…Unnnnngh," Ulysses moaned as he closed his eyes tightly and turned his head to the side. "Don't stop…don't stop…Unnnnngh," Xena moaned as she gripped the sheets even tighter. "I'm not…I'm not," Ulysses moaned then winced in pleasure, "oh shit," he moaned, the pleasure had become so good he was back on two hands. Ulysses licked his lips and shook his head and he began to moan constantly _'this never felt this good'_ he thought to himself and soon he could feel that Xena was on the edge but he stayed at his current pace until she screamed her release into the sheets. As her release took hold, her body began to shake and Ulysses leaned down and whispered sweet loving things into Xena's ear as he continued to thrust into her.

"Uhhhh…Unnnngh," he moaned as his release snuck up on him and his face looked as if he were in pain as he released but it was just that the pleasure was just that intense. When he was finished and the tremors had left his body and hers, he laid there on top of her for a couple of minutes just to catch his breath before he fell back on the bed. After a minute he looked over at Xena who was still on her stomach, "you okay?" He asked and Xena just made a noise that made Ulysses smile, "yea, it was that good for me too," he said then stared up at the ceiling and Xena hadn't much energy left so she used it to crawl on top of Ulysses and that's where she stayed. No words were spoken, Ulysses just wrapped his arms around her and caressed her as she fell asleep, he pulled the cover up over their bodies and soon as was asleep as well.

When morning came and Xena woke, she was so comfortable where she was she didn't want to move and she didn't. She just pushed into Ulysses more. "Mmm," he moaned as he tightened his arms around her and at that moment she felt so loved, so safe and protected, it was the best feeling in the world. "It's almost time to get up," Ulysses said softly and Xena nodded, "I know but I just want to stay here in your arms a while longer," she said and Ulysses just placed a kiss on her forehead and she stayed there a while longer. When it finally got time for them to get up, they got up and took a shower together which was really fun then they got out, dried off and headed back to the bedroom where they got dressed.

**Continued in Chapter Fourteen:**

**The Wedding**

**Let me know what you think. **

**Negative and positive feedback is welcomed, it is encouraged. **


	14. Chapter 14

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. Just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played, so the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if it's too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination. lol 

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together. There is no more violence than your regular Xena episode.

**Chapter 14: The Wedding**

Preparations for the wedding continued as did Xena's and Ulysses' time with the priestess and they realized it helped them more than they ever thought it could, they were becoming closer, even though they felt the connection that they were one, they were now really, absolutely beginning to feel it. The wedding was getting closer and closer and the closer that day came the more things became more hectic, Xena was happy and grateful when her family arrived. On that day she was ready, when their ship made dock a carriage and guards were already there waiting for them. Xena couldn't meet them there because she and Ulysses had their appointment with the priestess but she would meet them as soon as they stepped foot out of the carriage.

"Hey Virgil," Lyceus said when he walked off of the ship and spotted Virgil standing next to the carriage and Virgil grinned as he walked over to Lyceus and they shook hands and shared a hug. "Its good to see you," Virgil said, "Likewise, where's Xena?" Lyceus asked as he looked behind Virgil. "Cyrene, you're looking as beautiful as ever," Virgil said as he placed a kiss on her cheek and she smiled at him. "Virgil it's good to see you and you look so different," she said as she stepped back and looked at Virgil in his royal clothes and he grinned as he looked at her. "It's the life I live," he said and as they talked men loaded their baggage onto the carriage.

"Well are you guys ready to go?" Virgil asked and by then he had greeted Toris and Corrinna. "Yea," Cyrene said as she nodded, "Xena will meet us at the palace, she and Ulysses had something to do," he said and they nodded they walked towards the carriage. Lyceus and Toris helped their mother and Corrinna into the carriage then got in behind them, followed by Virgil. On their ride to the place they looked out of the small windows at the beautiful land, "it is so beautiful here," Cyrene said as she continued to look with wonder and amazement in her eyes.

When they finally reached the palace Virgil got out first followed by the guys who looked at the palace in amazement before they helped Cyrene and Corrinna out of the carriage and they looked at the palace in the same way. "MOM!" Xena yelled as she ran down the stairs and hugged her mother, Ulysses followed her down the stairs just not as quickly and Ulysses parents and his sister followed him down as well. Xena hugged her mother, "I've missed you so much," she said and when they pulled back Cyrene looked over her daughter.

"I've missed you too, and you're looking good," she said then looked at the clothes Xena was wearing, one of the dresses that had been made for her. "Nice dress," she said and Xena grinned as she looked down at it then at her mother, "yea, well you know, I had to fit in some how," she said. "You're not going to give your brother a hug?" Lyceus asked and Xena grinned as she jumped into his arms and he smiled as he held on tight to her and spun her around and they both laughed. "Oh I've missed you so much," Xena said as she was placed on her feet and her hands on his face. "I've missed you too big sister," he said then placed a kiss on her forehead.

Xena then hugged Toris, "have they been taking good care of you?" He asked and Xena grinned, "they've been taking great care of me," Xena said and Toris nodded. "You look nice," he said and grinned as she pushed him then lastly she hugged Corrinna and while all of that was going on, Ulysses was hugging Cyrene and everyone else came down to talk to them. "Everyone, you've already met my parents," Ulysses said then waved Camilla forward. "This is my sister Camilla, Camilla this is Xena's mother Cyrene, her younger brother Lyceus, her older brother Toris and a great friend of the family and local healer of Amphipolis, Corrinna."

Ulysses introduced them and they all nodded their heads but Lyceus seemed to have a connection with Camilla and she had that same connection. "It's nice to meet you," she said and Lyceus smiled as she picked up her hand. "It's nice to meet you as well," he said as he placed a kiss on the back of her hand. Xena grinned to herself as she placed her hand on Ulysses' arm. "Why don't we go inside and we show you guys to your chambers and then we can have a late lunch," Xena said and they nodded. They headed inside the palace and once they were inside they looked around in amazement and Xena grinned as she looked at her mother.

"I know, I had the same reaction," Xena said. Julian, Marguerite and Camilla went on to the Dinning Hall while Xena, Ulysses and Virgil showed Xena's family where they would be staying which was a couple of rooms down from Xena's and Ulysses' quarters. Toris and Lyceus shared rooms in a way, it was two separate rooms but they were only separate by the double doors in the middle of the sitting chambers that connected the two rooms. "Before we got older, this used to be mine and Camilla's room," Ulysses said as he showed them where everything was.

"All I can say is, Wow," Toris said and Ulysses smiled while Xena showed her mother and Corrinna to their room. "We have a room together?" Corrinna asked and Xena nodded, "yea, I told them about you guys, they don't have a problem with it but that doesn't mean you can be free with it," Xena said and Cyrene nodded. "Thank you dear for at least asking them about how they felt about it," Cyrene said and Xena nodded. "Now, tell me what has been going on, especially about the wedding," Cyrene said as she placed her hand on Xena's arm and Xena grinned as she began telling them everything that had been happening and when Toris and Lyceus came out of their room they all headed to the Dinning hall where they continued to talk about what had been happening.

At the lunch, the atmosphere was very happy and exciting, Xena was talking with her mother, Corrinna and Marguerite about wedding stuff while Ulysses, Toris and Virgil talked and Lyceus and Camilla talked. "So mom, we have to get you and Corrinna fit for your dresses and Toris and Lyceus have to be fit as well," Xena said and Cyrene nodded. "Tell us more about the wedding," Corrinna said and Xena smiled. "I'd rather show you," she said and when they were all finished lunch they left the table without really informing the other guys. Xena took them to the garden, "since we agreed on a spring wedding and I thought it would be nice to have it in the garden."

Xena said and then she went about showing her mother and Corrinna the plans that she had made and how she envisioned how her wedding day would be. Xena enjoyed spending time with her mother and Corrinna, telling them all what had happened since she arrived on Ithaca, especially the wedding plans and she was definitely glad that her mother was there to help. "Mom, I hope you don't mind by I left the cooking up to you, you're going to love the cook here, she's nice and I think you and she will get along well and help for the wedding dinner." Xena said and Cyrene smiled, "of course, I will be delighted," she said, "now what of your wedding dress?"

Cyrene asked and Xena smiled, "that is being taken care of by Aphrodite and oh did I tell you that Athena herself is performing our ceremony," Xena said with a smile and Cyrene smiled back. She was so happy to see that her daughter was happy, it did her heart good. "Have you decided which one of your brothers is going to give you away?" Cyrene asked, "yes, they have been arguing about that since we got on the ship," Corrinna said and Xena let out a breath. "I don't know, Lyceus and I are closer than me and Toris but Toris is the eldest," Xena said then let out a breath, "I'll just talk to them about it," she said and her mother nodded.

The rest of the day, continued with Xena and Marguerite showing Cyrene and Corrinna around and they talked about the wedding and Cyrene and Corrinna caught Xena up on some of the things that had been happening in Amphipolis. While Ulysses and the other guys went off on their own and did manly things, as they talked and clowned amongst themselves. When dinner came, they met more new people, some they liked some they didn't and some respectfully liked them and other down right didn't care, they were surprised and appalled that these commoners were sitting at the table with them, in the royal dinning hall. But most of them were corrected and stayed in their place by either Ulysses, Julian and even Xena, she wasn't about to have her family treated as trash.

When night had fallen, Xena bid her mother and Cyrene a good night as well as her brothers. "Some of these people are worse than the ones back in Amphipolis," Lyceus said to Xena as he walked into his room and Xena grinned. "Yea but I deal with them just like I dealt with those in Amphipolis and occasionally I have to put them in their place," Xena said and Lyceus grinned as he turned and looked at his sister. "And what place is that?" He asked and Xena grinned as she fiddled with the edge of a table cloth, "the place of the next princess and the future Queen of Ithaca," she said and Lyceus grinned and nodded.

"So what's up with you and Camilla?" Xena asked and Lyceus blushed as he looked away, "nothing we were just talking," he said and Xena grinned. "Uh huh, well Ulysses is very protective of his sister as you and Toris are of me, so if anything starts up between you and her, treat her right and keep it under wraps," Xena said and Lyceus nodded. "You know me Xena, I always treat women with respect," he said and Xena nodded. "I know but this is an entirely different world here, so just be careful," she said and he nodded. "I will," he said and Xena nodded. "I ought to be going," she said as she turned and headed for the door.

"Hey, I just have one question for you," Lyceus said and Xena turned and looked at him as she reached the door. "And that would be?" She asked, "I am giving you away right?" He asked and Xena grinned at her brother, "I have decided that you and Toris will both give me away, that way no one's feelings are hurt," Xena said and Lyceus hunched his shoulders. "If you want to pick Toris you can, my feelings won't be hurt," he said and Xena smiled a small grin at him as she placed her hand on the handle. "I know you better than that Lyceus, you would be hurt and I would be hurt because I would want you to give me away," Xena said then let out a breath.

"I just want both of my brothers to give me away, if that's okay with you," Xena said with a grin and Lyceus grinned and nodded. "yea, that's good," he said and she nodded. "Goodnight little brother," she said as she walked out of his room, closing the door behind her. She walked down a ways then went into her chambers where Ulysses was already in his pajamas and sitting in front of the fireplace, reading a scroll. "How long have you been in here?" Xena asked as she went about the room getting ready for bed, "about fifteen minutes," he said and Xena nodded. "Your brothers got settled in alright?" He asked and Xena nodded as she slipped her gown over her head.

"Yea, Lyceus and I were just talking about who was going to give me away on my wedding day and I told him that he and Toris were going to." She said then walked over to Ulysses, "both of them?" He asked as he moved his arms so that Xena could sit between his legs and lean against his chest. "Yea, Lyceus and I are really close and Toris and I are close but not as close as Lyceus and I but Toris is the eldest, so its his right to give me away but I would also like for Lyceus to do it as well and he wants to do it too, so to spare everyone's feelings, I just said that they would both give me away."

She said and Ulysses grinned as he nodded, "our wedding will definitely be one of a kind," he said. "Mmmm," Xena moaned as she leaned back into Ulysses' arm, grinning as she caressed his arm. "But it will be special," she said and Ulysses nodded, "I don't doubt that," he said and they sat there for a while talking before they went to bed. Now that the wedding was only two weeks away things were really busy now and sometimes Xena minded but not really since she and Ulysses could no longer make love so she needed something to help get rid of all the excess energy, Ulysses was the same way. All day everyday he was working, either he was doing kingdom work or making sure plans with the garden were going as planned, sometimes doing things himself because he wanted everything to be perfect because that's the way Xena wanted things to be for their wedding, perfect.

They still went for their counseling sessions with Lassa which helped them talk about a lot, especially fears if there were any at all. As the days began to wind down things became more hectic and busier, some of the guests had started arriving, which gave Xena a chance to wear a different dress every night for dinner and her mother, brothers and Corrinna had even been fitted for some clothes. Most of their guests would be arriving in the following week including some of Ulysses' closest friends he had invited. "So tell me about your friends that you invited," Xena said as they took a walk along the beach.

"Well, they're from my rebellion period," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she held Ulysses' hand. "You only stopped rebelling when you met me," Xena said and Ulysses laughed, "true, true" he said then kissed the back of Xena's hand as they continued to walk along the beach. "Well lets just say I was a somewhat wilder early on," he said and Xena grinned and nodded "I can imagine," she said and Ulysses grinned at her. "Well Dorian is a great singer, even better than me," he said, "I don't believe that," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her. "Believe it, he taught me some of what I know. Anyway, he travels around the world, still sings but we still keep in touch, it use to be that I would go and see him sometimes but then my father started weighing me down with things so that became impossible.

We do keep in touch from time to time though," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "So who else did you invite?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned. "Everyone that hangs with Dorian, we all became sort of a big family, a big music family," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "So are they the music for our wedding?" Xena asked and Ulysses smiled and nodded, "they're great, just ask Virgil and I figure this would be a great time to see them and they could even make some money." Ulysses said and Xena nodded, "that's fine with me, so what is our wedding song?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her, "it's a surprise but you'll love it I have no doubt," he said and Xena nodded and they continued walking along the beach, watching the sun as it began to set.

The days passed by so quickly that the next week was upon them before anyone really knew it and preparations were still being made for the wedding. However, when Dorian and the rest of his friends arrived, Ulysses took some time off from his very busy schedule to meet them at the docks. "Ulysses, its been a long time," Dorian said as he walked up to Ulysses and they shared a hug, "too long," Ulysses said with a smile on his face as he pulled back. "Virgil, my man," Dorian said to Virgil who smiled as they shared a hug as well. "Where is everyone else?" Ulysses asked, "back on the ship getting their things," Dorian said then let out a breath as he looked at Ulysses.

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other, what has it been two years?" Dorian asked and Ulysses nodded, "about that," he said and Dorian nodded. "And now here we are and you're getting married," Dorian said with a smile as he pushed Ulysses who smiled at him. "Yea, I'm getting married," he said, "I don't believe it, someone has finally tamed the untamed beast," a woman said as she walked off of the ship and Ulysses grinned, "Vanessa," he said and she smiled at him as they hugged as well. "You're looking good," he said as he looked over the woman who was medium in height, shoulder length brown hair, hazel eyes and a nice shape with a curve to it.

"You're looking good as well," she said as she looked over Ulysses, "the world has been kind to you," she said as she touched his cheek and he smiled at her. "Nah, I just have a great woman taking of me," he said, "yea that does do wonders," Dorian said as he wrapped his arm around Vanessa's waist. "Besides why is it so hard to believe when you tamed an untamed beast," Ulysses said and Vanessa smiled at him. "Hey I'm not tamed," Dorian said and Ulysses grinned, "and neither am I," he said then winked at them both and they smiled at him. "You haven't changed a bit Ulysses," Dorian said and Ulysses smiled at him.

"Etta it's wonderful to see you," Ulysses said to a slightly elderly woman who he helped down off of the plank and she smiled as she slapped his hand away and Ulysses smiled at her. "Still as stubborn as ever," he said, "of course, did you expect that the years had tamed me?" She asked with a grin and Ulysses smiled as he shook his head. "No, not all," he said then placed a kiss on the back of her hand. "So how have you been?" He asked her, "well, work is good, life is good, so I've been well. I've opened a Tavern back home where people come and show their talent and sometimes I help them get places," she said and Ulysses nodded.

"Sounds good," he said, "it is, you should come and visit sometimes," she said and Ulysses nodded, "perhaps sometime after the honeymoon," he said and Etta smiled at him. "I can't believe you're getting married," she said and Ulysses smiled and nodded, "come and tell me about her," she said as she placed her hand on his arm and they began walking towards where the others were. When the rest of their friends were off the ship they took carriages back to the palace where Ulysses showed them all to their rooms. "So when do we meet this great woman?" Dorian asked and Ulysses grinned, "now if you would like," he said and they all nodded and he smiled, "follow me then," he said and that's what they did.

Ulysses lead them to the dinning hall where he knew Xena would mostly likely be since that's where she, her mother and his mother spent most of their time planning. When he got there however, she wasn't there, "where's Xena?" He asked his mother as he placed a kissed on her cheek, "not here," she said then looked behind Ulysses. "Dorian," Marguerite said and Dorian bowed his head in respect, "my lady, you are looking well," he said and Marguerite nodded. "Thank you," she said, "mother," Ulysses said under his breath and she looked at him. "Be nice," he whispered to her and she looked at him. "I am," she said and Ulysses let out a breath.

"I can see Xena isn't here, where is she?" Ulysses asked, "I think she went to release some steam," Lyceus said. "Who made her mad?" Ulysses asked, "some of the planners were messing things up, bugging her non stop and not listening to her, that was until she told them off," Cyrene said and Ulysses nodded, "well that sounds like Xena," he said. "Do you know where she is? We still have some things we need to do before the day is over," Marguerite said and Ulysses grinned at his mother. "She's more than likely on the training grounds," Ulysses said and Marguerite nodded. "I'll see you guys later," Ulysses said as he turned and left the hall with Dorian and the others following them.

"I think your mother still doesn't like me," Dorian said and Ulysses grinned, "she thinks you guys are the reason why I started doing the things I did but she soon found out that, that wasn't the reason." He said, "oh yeah, and how did she find that out?" Dorian asked, "he left or more precisely we left," Virgil said and Dorian looked at him then back at Ulysses. "How long were you gone?" He asked, "long enough, bout a half a year," Ulysses said and Dorian nodded. "Well are things any better?" Dorian asked and Ulysses nodded, "they're a lot better, that time away was something I really needed and it turns out I needed it even more so when I met Xena," Ulysses said and Dorian nodded.

"Camilla," Ulysses called as he saw his sister leave a room and she turned and looked at her brother as they walked towards her. "Camilla, this is little Camilla?" Dorian asked as he looked over Camilla who was a grown woman compared to the last time he had seen her. "Dorian?" Camilla asked and he nodded, "I haven't seen you in a long time," she said and he nodded. "Everyone this is my sister, Camilla," Ulysses introduced her and she grinned and waved at them. "Where are you headed?" Ulysses asked his sister, "why?" She asked and he looked at her, "cause I want to know," he said and Camilla raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well keep wanting then," she said then grinned at everyone else, "it was nice meeting you all," she said to them then walked away and Ulysses shook his head at his sister. They finally left the palace and headed over to the training grounds where they stood and on the hill and looked down at the soldiers training and Xena was over in the practice ring fighting a couple of guys. "There she is," Ulysses said as he pointed towards her and they all looked over at Xena. "You found you a woman who could fight," Dorian said and Ulysses grinned as he nodded, "she can do more than that, believe me," he said and they stood there and watched her fight.

"She sure is unique," Etta said and Ulysses laughed, "yea, she is unique," he said and when Xena was finished fighting he called down to her. "Xena," he shouted and she looked up at him and grinned when she saw it was him. She helped one of the guys up from the ground, handed the staff she was using to one of the guards then headed up the hill, Ulysses meeting her half way. "Hey," she said with a smile and Ulysses smiled back, "hey," he said as they leaned in for a soft and brief passionate kiss. "I have some people I want you to meet," Ulysses said as he took Xena's hand and led her up the rest of the hill. "Xena this is Dorian and his wife Vanessa," Ulysses introduced them, "it's nice to meet you," she said.

"It is an honor to meet you," Dorian said as he shook Xena's hand and she looked at him. "Why does everyone say that?" Xena asked and Dorian grinned, "you must understand that we thought no one would ever be able to tame Ulysses," Dorian said and Xena grinned as she looked at them. "Is that what you think I've done? Tamed him?" Xena asked and they nodded and she just chuckled at them then looked at Ulysses, "far from it," she said as she caressed his cheek and he smiled at her. "That's good to hear," Etta said as she walked up to them and Ulysses grinned, "Xena this is Etta, she's like a mother to me," he said and Xena grinned at her.

"It's nice to meet you," Xena said and Etta nodded, "and you as well," and from there they began to head back to the palace. As they walked back to the palace Xena and Etta talked, Xena told Etta of how she and Ulysses met and Etta told Xena of how Ulysses use to be and Ulysses just continued to hold Xena's hand as they walked. When they got back to the palace they headed straight to the dinning hall where everyone was introduced to the family and before dinner time rolled around everyone went and got cleaned up and Xena saw to some things she had to do today before the day ended.

"I like your friends," Xena said as she sat on the stool in front of the mirror and braided her hair and Ulysses grinned as he relaxed on the bed. "I'm glad to hear that, they love you," he said as he watched her, he loved watching her every move and the fact that she was so beautiful. "So, can all of them sing?" Xena asked as she stood and turned off some lanterns before she got into the bed. "No, Dorian, Vanessa and Etta can sing real well, the others play the instruments and are back up. Some of those guys I don't even know," he said and Xena grinned as she laid down between Ulysses' legs, laying her head on his chest. "Four more days, are you getting nervous?"

Xena asked Ulysses as she looked up at him and he shook his head as he looked into her eyes, "no, are you?" He asked, "nope," Xena said with a grin then leaned down and kissed Ulysses passionately and he moaned as he placed his hand against her cheek. "Mmmm," he moaned when the kiss ended and Xena grinned at him, "don't get me wrong, I'm excited about the wedding but I can't wait for the wedding night," he said and Xena chuckled at him. "The things they come up with for weddings, what's the point of us not being able to make love?" He asked and Xena hunched her shoulders as she rolled off of him, "something to do with a purification ritual," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath as he turned on his side and looked at Xena.

"When I'm King I think I'm going to eliminate some of that stuff," he said and Xena smiled at him as she reached out and played with his fingers. "I get the feeling that your parents don't really care for Dorian," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Yea, they think he's a bad element, that he's the reason behind my disobedience," Ulysses said and Xena thought about that. "But he's not," Xena said and Ulysses shook his head as he turned his head and looked into Xena's eyes. "No, if anything he kept me out of trouble, he's like an older brother," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she looked into Ulysses' eyes as she reached her hand out to caress his cheek.

"Does anyone really know the struggles you've been through?" She asked him and Ulysses just looked into her eyes before he turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand. "No one but you my love," he whispered to her then moved closer to her laying his head on her chest and Xena held him tight as she ran her fingers through his hair. They fell asleep that way and when morning came Xena and Ulysses went for a run together which eventually turned into a fun race with Gemini keeping up with her mother. When they were finished their morning exercises they went back to their chambers and took and shower then got dressed for the day.

"What's on the agenda for today?" Ulysses asked Xena as they headed to the dinning hall, "what isn't on the Agenda would be a better question," Xena said. "How is the garden?" Xena asked, "they garden is perfect Xena, everything is just how you wanted it, I even see to some things myself. The gardeners see to the garden every day so that on our wedding day everything will be just right," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "I'm just making sure," she said and Ulysses grinned. When they got to the dinning hall, everyone was mainly there eating breakfast and they sat down and joined them. When breakfast was over they all began to go their separate ways but Dorian and the others hung out with Ulysses and Julian and they went to a room that Xena had yet to go to.

This room was specifically for those who had been invited to entertain; this was a place they could practice. "I invited you guys here because for one I really wanted you to be at my wedding," Ulysses said. "And the other?" Vanessa asked, "well Etta I would be honored if you sung our wedding song," Ulysses said looking at the woman who grinned at him. "It will be my pleasure and I know which song to sing," she said and Ulysses grinned at her. "As for the rest of you, Dorian, I have a song that I wrote that I want to sing to Xena during the wedding and I want you to help me sing it." Ulysses said and Dorian nodded. "Okay, but last time I looked, you didn't need help with singing a song, especially one you had written," Dorian said and Ulysses nodded.

"Well, times have changed, I rarely sing these days," Ulysses said. "That's not what we heard," Vanessa said and Ulysses looked at her. "We heard you were in Amphipolis singing a song you had written and everyone loved it and you," she said and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked at Virgil who grinned at him. "Well that was a one time thing," he said and Dorian grinned and nodded. "If you say so," Dorian said, "where's the music and the song, let's get going on it, we only have three days," Dorian said as he looked at Ulysses who nodded. "Guys go get your things and let's meet back here," Dorian told the others and they left to go and get their things.

"Virgil can you get the song we've been working on?" Ulysses asked Virgil who nodded then left. "So are you nervous?" Dorian asked Ulysses as they walked over to some chairs and sat down. "No, I know she's the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with so I have no cold feet, or any nervousness. If I do have any nervousness, it's because I want everything to be perfect for Xena on our wedding day," Ulysses said and Dorian nodded. "So how have you and Vanessa been?" Ulysses asked and Dorian grinned and nodded, "we're doing good, thinking about settling down in a nice town, open an Inn, have some children," he said and Ulysses grinned and nodded.

"Sounds nice," Ulysses said and Dorian nodded. They sat there and talked for a while until everyone came back with their instruments and things then they set up and began working on the music with Ulysses' help and then he and Dorian began working on the lyrics to the song. "This is a beautiful song, you wrote this?" Vanessa asked Ulysses who nodded as he played a note on his lyre. "Yea I wrote it especially for Xena," he said and they continued to work on the song all day, taking small breaks in between, stopping for lunch and then going back. Ulysses left them to work on the song while he went and got some things done.

Back in Xena and Ulysses' chambers Xena was in the room trying on the dress that Aphrodite had made for her. "This is absolutely gorgeous," Cyrene said as she looked over the pure white dress and Xena nodded while Aphrodite grinned. "Its some of my best work," she said then waved her fingers around as she added some last minute touches. "What do you think Xena?" Aphrodite asked and Xena just shook her head as she looked at herself in the mirror before she turned around and caught Aphrodite off guard by hugging her. "Thank you, thank you so much, this dress is so beautiful," Xena said then pulled back and Aphrodite grinned as he looked at her.

"You're welcome," Aphrodite said then grinned as she looked at Xena, "Your wedding day is going to be a perfect day," Aphrodite said and Xena smiled as she turned and looked at herself in the mirror. "I hope so," Xena said. "The Wedding is mid day right?" Aphrodite asked and Xena nodded as she eased the dress off. "Yea, best time of the day to have an outside wedding," she said and Aphrodite nodded. "Well I'll be seeing you, I have some things to do, manicure, facial, you know, the usual," Aphrodite said then was gone in a pink flash.

About ten minutes after Aphrodite left Ulysses walked into the room and headed into the bedroom where the others were. "And where have you been all day?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked up at her as he sat his key down on the table before walking over to her. "Well as you know, our wedding day is approaching and I had many things to see to," he said with a grin on his face, lying to Xena about what he had been doing all day because he wanted it to be a surprise. By then her hands were in his and she grinned at him, "is that right?" Xena asked with a smile and Ulysses nodded, "our wedding day has to be perfect you know," Ulysses said with a grin and Xena smiled and nodded as he ran his fingers through her hair before he leaned forward and placed a soft sweet kiss on her lips.

"How has your day been?" Ulysses asked when the kiss ended, "wonderful and yours?" Xena asked and Ulysses nodded, "busy but good as well," he said then bid all the women in the room hello. "Have you seen your father today?" Marguerite asked her son and Ulysses nodded as he walked over to his desk and looked in one of the drawers for some papers. "Yea, I saw him a while ago, why?" Ulysses asked, "because there are some last alterations that need to be made for his clothes," Marguerite said and Ulysses nodded as he closed the drawer after he found what he was looking for. "I'll be sure to tell him when I see him," Ulysses said then placed a kiss on Xena's cheek.

"I'll see you later," he said, "I'll walk you to the door," Xena said as she took Ulysses' hand and he nodded. "See you all later," he said and they nodded and waved at him as they looked up from what they were doing. Xena walked Ulysses to the door and when they got there she gave him a very passionate kiss. "Mmmm," Ulysses moaned as he wrapped his arms around Xena and pulled her closer and Xena inhaled through her nose as they tasted each others lips. When the kiss ended they shared a couple of pecks before they both pulled back and looked into each other's eyes.

"I've been dying to do that all day," Xena said and Ulysses grinned at her. "Well I'm not complaining," he said and Xena smiled. "I can't wait until our wedding day and more importantly our wedding night," Xena said and Ulysses smiled at that. "Is someone a little frustrated?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned as she ran her fingers through his hair by the nape of his neck. "And your not?" She asked then bumped into him where she felt the bulge in his pants that emerged when they shared such a passionate kiss and Ulysses grinned as he cleared his throat.

"Point taken," he said then leaned in and kissed Xena softly and Xena just melted into his strong arms and when the kiss ended Ulysses pulled back and looked at Xena whose eyes were still closed and Ulysses grinned. "I love you so much and I want you so much," Ulysses whispered to her and Xena opened her eyes and looked into his where she saw his depth of love for her. She ran her fingers through his hair then pulled him to her and they shared a very passionate kiss, "Mmmm," they both moaned as they passionately tasted each others lips, Xena even going as far as to push her tongue into his mouth and Ulysses just held onto her tighter.

"Enough of that you two," Cyrene said as she walked into the room, Marguerite following her and Cyrene pulled Xena away from Ulysses who was pulled away by his own mother. "We were just kissing," Xena said and Marguerite looked at her, "and kissing will lead to other things," she said then looked at her son. "Be on your way," she said as she pushed him towards the door, "alright, alright I'm going," he said then winked at Xena who smiled and he smiled just before he picked up his keys and walked out of the door.

As he walked down the hall headed towards his father's office he heard someone call his name. "Ulysses," a voice said to him and he turned his head and saw Victoria walking towards him from the other end of the hall. "Victoria, how are you?" He asked as she walked up to him and she grinned a small grin as she nodded, "I'm doing better and you?" She asked and Ulysses nodded, "I'm doing well," he said and Victoria nodded, "I expect you would, you are getting married in a couple of days," she said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "May I walk with you?" She asked after an awkward moment of silence, "sure," he said and so they began walking and the silence returned once again.

"I've missed you around here," Ulysses said after a couple of minutes and Victoria looked at him. "Really?" She asked and he looked at her and nodded, "yea, you're still my friend Victoria," he said and she nodded. "I know, even after the way I acted," she said, "you were hurting, I understood that and I still understand it," he said and she nodded. "Yea I was in a bad place, so I went away for a while," she said. "Yea, Camilla told me you had went to Athens to stay with a cousin," he said and she nodded, "yea and it turns out that time away from home was what I needed," she said. "I'm glad you're doing better," Ulysses said and Victoria stopped walking and placed her hand on Ulysses' arm so that he stopped walking as well and looked at her.

"I came back home to let you know that I'm alright with everything, with the way things turned out and I'm happy that you're happy," she said and he looked into her eyes and grinned. "Thank you," he said then looked down for a moment, "Victoria I'm really sorry about what happened between us, I want you to know I never meant to hurt you," he said and she nodded. "I know but what happened is in the past and that's where it should stay," she said and Ulysses nodded. "So…you're going to be a married man in four days, are you nervous?" She asked him and Ulysses chuckled as he shook his head, "about the commitment, no, I just want everything to be perfect because that's how Xena wants things and I want to see her happy."

He said and Victoria smiled and nodded, "what woman doesn't want a perfect wedding day to a perfect man," she said and Ulysses chuckled. "I'm far from perfect," he said, "but you're close," she said and he grinned at her. "If you say so," he said, "well I have to go and meet Camilla," Victoria said and Ulysses nodded. "It was good seeing you," he said and she smiled and nodded, "it was good seeing you as well," she said then began walking away. "Hey Victoria, will you be at the wedding?" He asked and she turned and looked at him, "I wouldn't miss it for the world," she said then winked at him and turned and walked away and he smiled as he headed on his way, happy and satisfied that, that part of his life had been fixed as well as his relationship with Victoria and he wished her all the best.

The day passed by quickly and when the next day came, they started their purification rituals. From sun up, Xena and Ulysses were both going through their purification rituals, both in the temple but they were in different rooms. The purification ritual was a way for them to get rid of their past demons so that they would enter the union of marriage ready, open and prepared. Xena's demons dealt with her father and being accepted or rather not being accepted by those in her village. While Ulysses' demons dealt with him accepting who he was and who he was becoming, a Prince, a husband, one day a father and King.

The ritual consisted of a purifying bath and numerous trances where they would each see different things depending on what they kept hidden. Ulysses was sitting in his room in a chair looking out of the window and staring out at him kingdom. "Why is it you fight who you are meant to be, your destiny?" Lassa asked and Ulysses turned his head and looked at the priestess who he had not realized had walked into the room because he was so deep in thought. "I don't know. I suppose because I've always fought it and it seems so natural. Just because I was born into royalty, leadership doesn't mean I have to follow the same path as those before me. I believe we make our own fate," Ulysses said and Lassa nodded as she walked over to him.

"Yes, we do make our own fate, however, you have to realize that your fate is tied to Ithaca's fate, like those before you, no one can take care of Ithaca like you will, like you and your father have. You will make changes for the better, just as your son will and future rulers to come." Lassa explained and Ulysses let out a breath as he looked back out the window, "do you not want to see Ithaca well?" She asked, "of course I do but I also want to live my life," he said and Lassa looked at him.

"Then live your life, no one is saying that you can't. Even now, you're about to get married, one day have a family and do other things, that is living your life, you are living your life." She said and Ulysses let out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair, "rest and think about it," Lassa said then left the room and Ulysses sat there and looked out of the window. The next two days they would be spending here in the temple, not seeing each other and not seeing their families. Xena was laying in the bed on her side thinking about the dream she had just had, a dream of her past when her life with her family was great, when she loved her father with all of her heart and he loved her the same and then something happened, something changed, something changed him and she always wondered what it was, she wondered if it was her.

"You can't be responsible for the actions of others," Lassa said and Xena popped up in the bed and looked at the priestess. "I know that," Xena said and Lassa looked at her as she slowly walked over to the bed. "Do you? You shouldn't blame yourself for the actions of your father," Lassa said and Xena let out a breath, "I don't, I just…I just don't understand what happened," Xena said and Lassa nodded. "You don't know what made him change," she said and Xena shook her head. "I don't and I always thought it was me because he seemed to take his anger out on me the most," Xena said then let out a breath.

"Anyway, there's nothing I can do about it now," she said as she sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs. "No there isn't, but you need to accept what happened to you," the priestess said. "Accept that my father use to beat me, that he left me for dead?" Xena asked, her voice rising with her emotions, "accept the fact that it wasn't your fault and there was nothing you could do." She said and Xena let out a breath as she turned her head and stared at the wall, "we all go through our own struggles in life Xena and they make us the people that we are for good or for bad. You were never accepted by those in your village and that's a hard life but look at the person you have become, did you think you would ever become Athena's chosen," Lassa asked and Xena thought about that.

"You just think about that," Lassa said then left the bedroom and Xena let out a frustrated breath as she fell down on the bed face first. The next couple of days passed and eventually they both worked out everything and they had to admit they felt better, like a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders and they were now ready and willing to started the journey of marriage. "Are you ready?" Xena asked Ulysses as they walked hand in hand on the beach looking at the beautiful scenery and the people and children having a good day. "More than you know," Ulysses said and Xena smiled as he spun her around and she let out a breath as she held onto his arm and leaned against him and he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"It's a wonder you're not doing last minute wedding preparations," he said and Xena shook her head as she raised her head and looked at the beautiful country before her. "No, our families are seeing to that, I wanted to spend a little time with you before we actually become husband and wife, seeing as how we hadn't seen each other in two days and we'll be separated tonight," she said and Ulysses nodded. "Speaking of which, how was your purification ritual?" He asked and Xena hunched her shoulders, "good I guess, emotional, brain wrecking," she said with a grin and Ulysses nodded in agreement. "Yes, mine was the same but lets talk of good things," he said.

"Well, have you written your vows?" Xena asked with a grin and Ulysses smiled back, "of course," he said and Xena stood in front of him. "Can I hear them?" She asked and he chuckled at her as he caressed her cheek, "no," he said softly before he kissed her softly then chuckled at her pout. "You're so cute when you pout," he said, "please," she begged and whined and Ulysses just laughed at her then stooped down and picked her up throwing her over his shoulder and Xena laughed. "Put me down," she said, "why I like this position," he said as rubbed her butt and Xena chuckled then pinched his butt. "Hey!" He said as he tried to move away from her hands, which wasn't working so he just put her down and Xena smiled at him.

"Let's go for a ride," she said as she pulled on his hand, "ah Xe you know I don't like riding," he said as she pulled him. "I know but just one time for me," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and let out a breath. "Just one time," he said with a grin that turned into a smile when he saw Xena's huge smile. They made their way to the stables where Xena talked with Argo while Ulysses went and got a horse and then they both went for a ride together. For the majority of that day they spent time together then there was sort of a rehearsal dinner that night. Dorian and the others played subtle music for everyone, which was not the music that they usually played.

During the dinner when everyone was up and walking around Lyceus walked up to Xena and she looked at her brother. "What?" She asked with a grin, "I'm so proud of you," he said and she grinned at him. "You know how much I would love to give you away tomorrow but I think it should just be Toris," he said. "Why?" Xena asked and Lyceus looked into her eyes, "because you and I have always been close, we'll always be close but is a chance for Toris and this is really special and important to him," he said and Xena looked into his eyes and nodded. "Alright," she said and Lyceus grinned at her, "but I get the first dance," he said and Xena laughed.

"It's a deal," she said and Lyceus placed a kiss on Xena's forehead, "why don't you go and tell him the good news," Lyceus said and Xena nodded and looked at her younger brother once more before she walked away. "Toris," Xena called as her brother stood and talked with Dorian and a few of the others. Toris turned and looked at his sister, "yea," he said, "can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked and he nodded and they walked a few feet away. "What's up? Is everything okay? Nothing's wrong with the wedding right?" He asked in a quick breath and Xena smiled at him. "Will you calm down, I'm the bride not you, I'm supposed to be nervous and asking all of those questions." Xena said with a smile and Toris relaxed visibly and smiled at his sister, "sorry, I just want your wedding day to be perfect for you, you deserve it," he said and Xena smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said, "so what do you want to talk to me about?" Toris asked and Xena looked into his eyes, "well big brother, I want you to give me away," she said and he looked at her. "I thought I already was, me and Lyceus although that's weird," he said and Xena grinned as she shook her head at him. "But I just want you to give me away," she said and he looked at her, "are you sure?" He asked, "of course I'm sure, you're my big brother," she said and he nodded. "What about Lyceus, won't he be upset?" Toris asked and Xena shook her head, "he'll be alright," she said then placed a kiss on his cheek before she walked away.

As she was walking she spotted Camilla at the door, she poked her head in and looked around the room, when she spotted Xena she looked at her for a minute then pulled her head out. Xena looked around and smiled at a couple of people before she headed over to the door and walked out of it then down the hall and around the corner. "Xena over here," Camilla said and Xena walked over to Camilla who was hiding in a room. "Did you get it?" Xena asked and Camilla held her hand out with a pouch in it. Xena took the pouch and opened it and emptied the contents into her hand and she looked at the large, sterling sliver, wide band ring.

"This is great; you think Ulysses will love it?" Xena asked Camilla who nodded as she looked at the ring and the intricate carvings on it. "I think he'll be mesmerized," she said and Xena nodded then placed the ring back into the pouch and pulled the draw string tightly to make sure that it was closed and handed it back to Camilla. "Don't loose it," Xena said and Camilla nodded, "I'll see you later on tonight," Camilla said and Xena nodded then left the room and headed back to the dinning hall, to the dinner, her family and friends.

When dinner was over and everyone began leaving, Xena and Ulysses were off to the side all hugged up. "Tomorrow," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him as she looked into his eyes while she ran her fingers through his hair. "Tomorrow, we'll be married," she said and Ulysses nodded then leaned in and kissed Xena so softly. "Xena come on," Camilla called and Xena looked at Camilla who stood with the rest of the females since the night would be for them like it would be for Ulysses and his boys. "I'm coming," Xena said then looked back at Ulysses.

"I have to go," she said as she ran her fingers down the side of his face, "me too," he said as he heard Virgil and Dorian call for him. They looked into each other's eyes as they leaned forward and shared a soft passionate kiss. When the kiss ended Ulysses placed a kiss on Xena's cheek and whispered in her ear, "I love you," he whispered and Xena grinned as she leaned into him. "And I you," she said then kissed him softly once more before she pulled back and walked away and Ulysses grinned as he turned and headed in the opposite direction.

"Gods, it's not like you're not going to see each other tomorrow," Virgil said to Ulysses as he shook his head and Ulysses grinned at his friend as they walked out of the dinning hall. "Do you have it?" Ulysses asked as they headed to Virgil's room and Virgil nodded, "it's in my room," he said and Ulysses nodded. "Do the guys have the song down pat?" Ulysses asked Dorian to his right and Dorian nodded. "Yeah, we practiced a lot while you and Xena were in the temple, we have it," he said and Ulysses nodded.

Xena, Cyrene, Corrinna, Marguerite, Camilla and Virgil's mom went to Xena and Ulysses' room and when they walked into the bedroom they all stopped dead in their tracks when the looked at the view before them. The room had been transformed to look like one of Aphrodite's temples. The bed was gone and in its places were countless furs, big soft pillows and cushions as well as loungers. There were men who stood there in tight shorts on, no shirt and it looked as if they had been oiled down so that they could show off their muscled chests, which you could see the muscles flex since they were waving fans. In the middle of all the cushions were fruits, cheeses and sweet pastries along with glasses of wine.

"You guys are here," Aphrodite said as she appeared before them all and Xena looked at her with a grin. "You've been busy," she said and Aphrodite grinned. "Yes she has," Athena said as she appeared next to the goddess of love and then everyone in the room was in awe except for Xena. "Will you be joining us Athena?" Xena asked with a grin and Athena looked at her chosen then at Aphrodite who was looking down at her nails. "I suppose so," she said and Xena smiled then grabbed her mother's arm and they all headed over to the pillows and sat down. "I'm not going to bite," Athena said as she sat down and the others stared at her.

"She's really sweet," Aphrodite said as got down on her knees behind Athena and took the ties out of Athena's hair to let it hang. "Aphrodite," Athena said as she moved her head out of the goddess of love's hands. "What? You're a beautiful woman Athena you should let your hair hang a lot more," Aphrodite said as she ran her fingers through Athena's dark brown locks and Athena just rolled her eyes and Xena grinned at them as she ate a piece of fruit and slowly the others began to relax around the goddesses and they all began to talk and laugh. As the night got later, they started talking about men as they took luxurious baths, got manicures, pedicures and massages.

"I think the answer to a great relationship is an active sex life," Aphrodite said and Athena rolled her eyes at her and the others chuckled at that. "You would but sex isn't everything," Athena said. "It really isn't," Marguerite said. "Don't get me wrong, Julian knows what he's doing but a relationship, a marriage can't exist solely on sex its just not going to work," she said and Xena listened to them all and their infinite wisdom. "I think its communication and sex," Xena said and Aphrodite smiled and did a small squeal, "a girl after my own heart," she said and Xena grinned as she shook her head at the goddess. "Sex in a relationship is important because it's not just all about the physical pleasure, it's about the connection that two partners get when they connect themselves in that special and glorious way."

Xena said and they all listened to her, a few nodding their heads, "and you need communication because no relationship can work without it. You need to talk about you're feelings, what's going on with each other, fears, beliefs, dreams, ambitions, goals, likes and dislikes," she said and Athena grinned at her. "You speak of wisdom older than your years, now that's a girl after my own heart," Athena said and Xena grinned at her. "Well men believe themselves to be this perfect being, especially when it comes to the bed area so every now and then if you're not fulfilled you have to act as though you are because their ego's are easy to bruise," Virgil's mother said and Cyrene and Marguerite agreed with her.

"I don't think I'm going to have that problem with Ulysses, he's never once disappointed me," Xena said. "It'll happen at least once in your life," Cyrene said and Xena hunched her shoulders as she sipped on her wine. As the night moved on they slowly began to dose of to sleep, all on the floor until it was only Xena awake and she quietly got up and walked over to the window where she sat down and looked out of the window, out at the country, the stars and the moon and she just sat there and thought. After twenty minutes she was no longer alone, "do you mind if I sit with you?" Athena asked and Xena looked at her and shook her head.

"Of course not," Xena said and Athena sat down on the other end and they both looked out of the window. "This time of the night is so peaceful and tranquil," Athena said and Xena nodded. "So are you nervous?" Athena asked and Xena shook her head as she looked at the goddess, "no, I'm actually really calm, everything feels right," Xena said then looked back out of the window. "It feels as if the world is being still because this is my time, my day coming up," she said and Athena nodded. "That's a good feeling to have," Athena said and they just sat there in silence for a while before Athena got up and Xena looked at her. "You better get some rest," Athena said and she was about to disappear when Xena stopped her.

"Wait," Xena said and Athena looked at her, "I never thanked you for doing all that you have for me," Xena said and Athena grinned at her. "And you never will," she said then leaned forward and placed a kiss on Xena's forehead before she disappeared and Xena grinned and continued to look out of the window. Gemini jumped up there with her mistress and Xena rubbed her and after an hour Xena finally decided she needed to get some rest so she laid down on the floor with the others and dosed off with thoughts of Ulysses and her wedding day on her mind.

In Virgil's room everyone was asleep except for Ulysses and he laid in the bed next to Virgil, shaking his head at the snoring that was coming from the others who had been drinking. He had a great night with the fellas, his last free night or so they called it but he didn't think of it that way. He thought marrying Xena was the best possible thing he could and would ever do and nothing or no one would make him feel differently. Ulysses brought his hand up and looked at the wedding band he had made for Xena and he just thought about what it symbolized and he was filled with such happiness that he was about to become one with the woman he loved most in all the world.

After a while Ulysses placed the ring back in the pouch and laid it next to a medium sized square box, something else that was for Xena and he hoped that she would love it. That night, like many nights before, Ulysses fell asleep with Xena on his mind and he couldn't wait until their wedding day. Morning came and everyone in the palace the servants any way were up and bustling around, getting ready for the big day. Xena and the others woke an hour after sunrise, breakfast was brought to the room and they ate while a bath was prepared for Xena. Ulysses, Virgil and the others woke two hours after sunrise and breakfast was brought to them and Ulysses then checked on a couple of things before he took a bath and washed his hair.

"Dorian make sure the guys set up in the spot I showed you in the dinning hall," Ulysses yelled from the bath chamber as he stood there with a towel around his waist while he looked into the mirror and used a knife made specifically for shaving. "And…" he started yelling but was stopped by Dorian's voice. "Ulysses you just worry about getting yourself ready for today," Dorian said from the door way and Ulysses looked at him. "Virgil and I have the music handled, we know where to set up, as well as what and what not to play," he said then walked away. Ulysses let out a breath and went back to what he was doing. When he was finished he scooped some water into his hands from the basin and rinsed his face of then patted it dry with a towel.

He then walked into the bedroom where his clothes for the ceremony had been laid out on the bed. He rubbed a little oil on his body then proceeded to put his pants on before he walked over to the chest and picked up a pair of hair cutting scissors and trimmed his hair. When he was done he dusted his shoulders off then walked over to where the box was, picked it up then walked over to the desk where he sat down, grabbed a piece of parchment and began writing on it. When he was finished he folded it once then wrote Xena's name on the front of it. He picked up the box and walked into the sitting room to the front door, he opened it and handed the box and note to the guard, "deliver this to Xena," he told the guard who bowed his head and left and Ulysses closed the door and went back into the bedroom and got ready.

Meanwhile back in the room with Xena, once she was finished her breakfast, Xena took her bath and washed her hair. When she was finished she got out, dried her body off then dried her hair before she put on her robe. She then sat down at the dresser and oiled her body in the new oil that Aphrodite had given her, when she was finished Aphrodite appeared and began to do her hair; when Aphrodite was finished put on her undergarments. When she was done Camilla and Cyrene helped her with the dress and instead of going with the traditional white she went with a powder blue with white trimming on the collar, sleeves and the bottom of the dress.

There were white and gold swirl patterns making the dress look beautiful, it clung to all of Xena's curves, the straps came down to the middle of her arms and in the front some cleavage showed but not much, there was a split on the right side that came up to the middle of Xena's leg. When she was finished she put on the sandals that matched then the earrings while Aphrodite decided to add some last minute touches to Xena's hair, loosening the curls so that they hung loosely. Xena's whole head was covered in them with a light sliver powder on her hair and chest and arms so when she walked into the sunlight she sparkled.

"How are we doing ladies?" Corrinna asked as she walked in and over to them, "just about done," Camilla said. "Who was at the door," Xena asked since Corrinna had gone to answer the door when there was a knock. "It was a guard dropping this off for you Xena from Ulysses," she said as she sat the large square box down in front of Xena on the dresser. "What is it?" She asked and Corrinna shook her head, "there's a note on top," she said and Xena picked it up and read it.

Well my love, today's the day that we become one, I can't tell you how happy and overjoyed I am. I won't say much since I'll see you soon but I wanted to give you this as a token of my love for you. This is but the first of many gifts and I hope to see it on you though it will be dull in comparison to your beauty.

Yours truly,

Ulysses

The note read and then Xena took the top off the box and she along with others gasped when they saw what was in it. It was a very beautiful diamond necklace, "gods," Cyrene said and Xena looked at her mother then back down at the necklace, too surprised and filled with emotion to say anything. She picked it up and looked at it, "it must have cost him a fortune," she said as she looked at it. It was beautiful, the large diamonds standing out and then she turned it around and saw letters etched into the silver on the chain. "To my beautiful bride on our wedding day," she read out loud. "Help me put it on," she asked Camilla who put it around Xena's neck and she felt the cool of the diamonds against her skin as Camilla fastened it in the back. Xena looked at it in the mirror and she couldn't believe Ulysses had did this, "you look absolutely beautiful," Cyrene said and the others nodded in agreement.

For the remainder of the time they sat there and talked until there was a knock on the door, Corrinna answered it and it was Marguerite who had left and gotten ready earlier and went to see to every last detail to make sure that things were specifically as Xena had asked. "We're ready," she said and Corrinna nodded then looked at Xena. "Its time," she said and Xena nodded and stood holding her dress up slightly as she walked over to the door, her mother and Camilla behind her. The guard closed the door and the others walked out to the garden where the ceremony was being held, they stopped outside the door and Xena looked at them. "Okay, I look okay right?"

Xena asked and Cyrene grinned at her daughter as she moved some of Xena's hair behind her shoulder, "you look gorgeous," she said and Xena smiled at her mother. "You look perfect," Corrinna said and Xena nodded. Marguerite handed Camilla and Stephanie, one of Camilla's friends that Xena got along well with, their bouquet of flowers then handed Xena hers. Aphrodite, who had appeared in the hall with the others, fidgeted with Xena's hair for a bit then looked at her, "well I don't think I can make you look any more perfect," she said and Xena grinned at the goddess. "Thank you Aphrodite for all you have done, for the dress and for my hair," Xena said and Aphrodite grinned.

"Well you deserve it all, this is your day," she said, "I should be going," she said. "Wait, you're leaving?" Xena asked, "I'm just going to stand next to Athena," she said then winked at Xena before she disappeared in a shower of pink sparkles. Lyceus and Toris walked up to Xena and their mother, "well its time," Lyceus said and Xena smiled at him. "I'm ready," she said and Lyceus looked at her and nodded, "I have no doubt that you are," he said then placed a kiss on her forehead before he looked at their mother. "Are you ready mom?" He asked and Cyrene nodded and placed her hand on Lyceus' arm and he walked her down the aisle to her seat which was in the front and next to Corrinna.

Lyceus walked back to the hall where Camilla, Stephanie, Toris and Virgil were. There was a light music playing coming from Dorian and the other and when they heard the music that meant that it was really time. Stephanie and Lyceus walked down the isle first and then it was Camilla and Virgil's turn, "wait, wait," Xena said and Camilla looked at her, "what?" She asked and Xena looked at her, "do you have the ring?" And Camilla nodded, "yes I have the ring," she said and Xena nodded then watched as Camilla walked up to Virgil, placed his hand on his arm and they began walking down the white silk cloth covered with red rose petals.

Xena let out a breath, "my lady," Sarah said and Xena looked at her and nodded then looked at Toris. "You sure you're ready?" He asked and Xena smiled at him, "I'm more than ready," she said and he looked at her and nodded. "I can't believe it, my little sister is all grown up and getting married…and before me," he said and Xena chuckled at him. "Come on," she said as she placed her hand on his arm and in sync like they had practiced days before they began walking out of the palace and into the sun. Almost everyone Marguerite had sent invitations to had came so there were rows and rows of people on both sides of Xena but she didn't look at them, she kept her eyes on Ulysses who was standing at the front.

Athena had appeared next to Lassa and Aphrodite was on the other side of Athena. Athena she looked at Ulysses who was looking over his clothes to make sure he looked okay, and he was doing that for about the fifth time. "Would you stop, you look fine," Virgil whispered to him and Ulysses cleared his throat and let out a breath. The musicians started playing the music and Ulysses leaned forward to try and get a look behind the trees but he couldn't see anything.

Marguerite came and sat in the front and she smiled at Ulysses who smiled back, he saw Stephanie appear with the flowers in her hand and minutes later Camilla appeared. Ulysses let out a breath realizing Xena would be coming in any minute, "you might want to take a few deep breaths before you pass out," Athena whispered to him and he nodded slightly and took in a few deep breaths and was in the middle of inhaling when Xena appeared. Everyone turned and looked at her and he thought she just looked absolutely amazing; he looked over her and thought she was positively glowing. He loved that dress on her and her hair she was the perfect picture of a goddess and he was so entranced he forgot to breathe.

Virgil slapped him on the back and he began breathing normally, and when Xena smiled at him he almost forgot to breathe again. When she was standing in front of him he looked at her, "you're beautiful," he told her and she smiled at him. "Who gives Xena of Amphipolis away?" Athena asked, "I do," Toris said loud enough for everyone to hear and Xena smiled at her brother and he smiled back before he leaned in and placed a kiss on cheek before he handed her hand to Ulysses who he looked dead in the eye. "You take care of my sister, I'm entrusting her with you, do right by her," Toris said and Ulysses looked into his eyes and nodded. "I swear to you I will," he said and Toris nodded and placed Xena's hand in Ulysses' hand before he went to sit down next to his mother.

Xena handed her flowers to Camilla then she and Ulysses stepped closer together taking each other's hands and they looked into each other's eyes. Athena grinned at them then started the ceremony, "today we are here to celebrate a love that few rarely find. It is rare and indeed special, when one should find their other half and these two have accomplished what many haven't. Their bond is a true bond that can't be broken by any God or mortal, true and everlasting love is hard to find so on this day we celebrate these two in doing such." Athena said then looked at Ulysses, "I believe you have something special for Xena," she said with a grin and Ulysses grinned and nodded then looked over at Dorian who nodded that he was ready and Ulysses looked back at Xena.

"You always said that you loved it when I sing, so I thought on this day, this perfect day, your day, our day that I would give you the gift of a song that I have written for you on our wedding day," Ulysses said and Xena grinned at him and Ulysses looked into her eyes as the music began to play and then he began to sing.

**Verse 1: (Ulysses)**

I can't believe is true, I'm standing here in front of you

and you are here with me.

(Ulysses sang as he looked into Xena's eyes and she smiled at him and everyone else listened as he sang to her.)

So unbelievable, I'll never ever let you go,

my heart is yours for keeps. (Ulysses and Dorian sung together)

Lets make a vow (lets make a vow baby)- Dorian sang first and then Ulysses sang behind him

right here and now (right here and now)

**Chorus: (everyone in band)**

This is the day that I've prayed for

and you are the girl of my dreams

and my place in life,

is right here by your side on this day,

(Dorian began singing and everyone was astonshed that he and especially Ulysses could sing)

this very moment.

**Verse 2: (Dorian)**

(Dorian walked over to Xena and Ulysses until he was standing somewhat in front of him and off to the side. He was singing to them both and Xena grinned as she leaned into Ulysses, they had turned to face the crowd as they listened to Dorian sing.)

Today its you and I, we celebrate a brand new life that the Gods has given us

Until the end of time, I hold your precious hand in mine

A promise you can trust

(Ulysses looked at Xena and sung) These simple words I do

Forever all my love for you

**Chrous 1x:**

This is the day that I've prayed for (I've prayed for)

and you are the girl of my dreams (you're the girl of my dreams)

and my place in life,

is right here by your side on this day, (from this day)

(Dorian looked at Ulysses and made a slight motion with his head telling him to sing from his heart. Ulysses wanted Dorian to sing the part that was coming up but Dorian thought that Ulysses could do it, so Ulysses let out a breath, took Dorian's advice and began singing from his heart.)

**Hook: (Ulysses)**

My heart is all dream, this day was meat to be (ooohhhh)

I need you despartly, through all enternity

So perfect and so right, I want you in my life

I'll be here by your side from now on

**Chorus:**

This is the day that I've prayed for (this is the day)

Xena couldn't believe what she was hearing, the way Ulysses was singing, she had never heard him sing that way before. His voice had gotten so deep and it was as if you could hear the soul and heart he put into the song as he sing those words to her and all Dorian could do was grin and nodded as Ulysses did what he thought he couldn't do.)

and you are the girl of my dreams (you're the girl of my dreams)

and my place in life, (Yeeaahhhhh)

is right here by your side (by your side) on this day,

this very moment.

**(Band)**

This very moment

This very moment

This very moment….

**(Ulysses)**

I cant believe its true

I'm standing here in front of you

And you are here with me…

This very moment

(Dorian and Ulysses finished together and Xena smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek in happiness and Ulysses smiled at her as he used his thumb to wipe away the tear. Dorian grinned as he patted Ulysses on his arm before he went and took his seat next to his wife)

Xena and Ulysses smiled at each other as they turned back around and then Athena began to speak. "It is one of life's richest surprises when the accidental meeting of two life paths led them to proceed together along the common path as husband and wife. It is one of life's finest experiences when a casual relationship grows into a permanent bond of love. This meeting and this growth bring us together today. Ulysses and Xena, will you take vows here before all of us which symbolize the manifested vows you have already made and will continue to make to each other throughout your lives?" She asked and they looked at each other, "we will," they said together. "Xena you may speak your vows to Ulysses," she said and Xena looked into Ulysses' eyes as she began.

"Ulysses, my love, my hero, you came into my life when I had just about given up on everything. I remember when I first saw and spoke to you, I thought to myself he is so arrogant, like every man he only wants me for one thing," she said and he smiled at her. "It was only later that I learned that you were confident in yourself, something you rarely see these days and as time passed it was one of the many things I loved about you. You taught me how to live, how to dream and have fun, you made every dream I have ever had come true, you accepted me for me," she said smiling at him and he smiled back. "You made love to me like no one ever has and when you hold me I know that's where I'm meant to be. In your arms for all eternity, loving you and having you love me." She finished and Ulysses smiled at her, "Ulysses you may speak your vows to Xena," Athena said and Ulysses ran his tongue over his lips before he spoke. 

"Xena, my heart, my love, I have never known a love such as this. You came into my life when I was looking for something but had no idea what that was until I saw you. When I looked up your heavenly face I knew, I knew we were meant to be together. That is why from this day on, I choose you, my beloved Xena, to be my wife. To live with you and laugh with you; to stand by your side, and sleep in your arms; to be joy to your heart, and food for your soul; to bring out the best in you always, and, for you, to be the most that I can. I promise to laugh with you in good times, to struggle with you in bad; to solace you when you are downhearted; to wipe your tears with my hands; to comfort you with my body; to mirror you with my soul; to share with you all my riches and honors; to play with you as much as I can until we grow old." He said and she smiled at him and with his vows done Athena spoke again.

"This marriage is an event in the lifetime of love. Neither I, nor all society, can join these two lovers today. Only they can do what they have chosen. They are joining themselves, one to the other, as they find union with one another; they proclaim that union today and pledge its future. We, by our participation in this celebration, do but recognize and honor their intention to dwell together as husband and wife." She said then looked at both of them, "the rings," she said and Virgil handed Ulysses Xena's ring and Camilla handed Xena Ulysses' ring. "Ulysses you first repeat after me," Athena said and what she said Ulysses repeated to Xena as he looked into Xena's eyes. "I, Ulysses, take you, Xena, for my lawful wife. To have and to hold, to forsake all others; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, from this day forward until death do us part."

He said then slid the ring onto Xena's finger, "I give you this ring to wear upon your hand as a symbol of our unity in steadfast love." He said and Athena turned to Xena, "now you Xena, repeat after me," Athena said and Xena let out a breath and looked into Ulysses' eyes as she repeated after Athena and spoke the words that came from her heart with such feeling that it brought a tear to Ulysses' eye. "I, Xena, take you, Ulysses, for my lawful husband. To have and to hold, to forsake all others; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, from this day forward, until death do us part."

Then she took Ulysses' hand in hers and began sliding the ring on his finger, "I give you this ring to wear upon your hand as a symbol of our unity in steadfast love." And with that they both smiled at each other, "now you are two bodies but there is only one life before you," Athena said then turned to Lassa who handed her a large goblet. "As both of you drink from this cup it symbolizes the start of your new life together, to share any and everything so that your love may be everlasting." Athena said then handed the cup to Xena who took a sip then handed it to Ulysses and he did the same and handed it back to Athena who handed it back to the priestess. "Please kneel before me," she said and Ulysses helped Xena down as he got down on his knees as well.

"Ulysses you are the Prince of Ithaca, next in line, are you not?" Athena asked, "I am," Ulysses said and she placed his crown on his head, "and you enter into this union of your own free will?" She asked, "I do," he answered. "And before all these witness here, your King and Queen and the gods above it is your will that Xena become your wife, one day your Queen and to rule by your side?" She asked and he looked at Xena, "it is." He said and then Athena looked at Xena. "You are Xena of Amphipolis, are you not?" She asked, "I am," Xena said. "And you enter into this union of your own free will?" Athena questioned, "I do," Xena said. "Then it is here at this moment that you must swear fealty to Ulysses, to the King and to Ithaca." Athena said and Xena turned and looked at Ulysses, "as we are joined today I swear to you, that I will be your wife and one day Queen. Ruling and standing by your side, I will lend a hand where ever it is needed or where ever you wish me to.

I will follow your rule and command, do right by you and Ithaca, laying down my life if need be." She said and Athena turned and picked up the crown from the pillow. "Before all these witnesses here and the gods above you have sworn fealty to Ithaca, it's Prince and King, it is your will that Ulysses become your husband?" She asked and Xena looked at her, "it is," she said and Athena grinned as she placed the crown on Xena's head and then they both stood. "Since Ulysses and Xena have pledged their love and commitment to each other before these witnesses, I declare they are husband and wife."

She said then looked at Ulysses, "you may kiss your bride," she said and he smiled then stepped forward placing his hand on Xena's cheek and Xena grinned then moaned as Ulysses kissed her passionately. The kiss was passionate and all though they wanted it to last longer they knew that they had to stop and so they did. Athena smiled and Ulysses and Xena faced the crowd, "it is my pleasure to introduce to you Ulysses and Xena, Prince and Princess of Ithaca," she said out loud and everyone stood and clapped their hands. Xena and Ulysses smiled and they walked back to the palace hand in hand and as they walked by the people, rose petals were thrown onto them.

When they were inside the palace they looked at each other, "we did it, we're married," Xena said and Ulysses grinned, "yes we are," he said then leaned in and kissed Xena passionately. She moaned and wrapped her arms around Ulysses and they kissed for a while when it ended they were both slightly breathless and they grinned at each other. "As much as I would love to continue this there are people waiting for us my Queen," Ulysses said and Xena grinned, "my queen, I love it when you call me that," she said then leaned in and kissed Ulysses softly once more. When the kiss ended they stood there for a while just staring into each other's eyes, giving everyone a chance to get to the dinning hall.

When enough time had passed they smiled at each other the headed to the dinning hall. The guards at the door bowed their heads, "my lord, my lady," they said as they opened the doors and when they walked in everyone was standing and they were clapping. Xena and Ulysses smiled as they walked in up to their table where Camilla, Virgil, Stephanie and Lyceus sat, Xena and Ulysses' seats were in the middle and Ulysses pulled out Xena's chair so that she could sit down. He sat down and so did everyone else, music began playing, people talked and drinked as the food was being brought out. "I wanted to tell you that you look absolutely gorgeous," Ulysses told Xena and she smiled at him.

Xena's mother and Toris were sitting down at the table with Marguerite, Julian and the others. After a bit Virgil stood with his glass in his hand and he hit it with a fork to get everyone's attention, the room quieted and they all looked at him. "Well as the best man it's my duty to give a speech. I'm not a poet or anything and I told Ulysses that but he still wanted me to give a speech, he wouldn't have it any other way." He said with a grin and they all laughed at him, "what can I say about two of the best people I've ever known, Ulysses my friend you are a great Prince, son and friend and I'm sure I'm not alone when I say you deserve the woman by your side."

He said and Ulysses grinned and squeezed Xena's hand. "Xena, I want to thank you. I have never seen this man smile so much as he has when he talks about you, sees you." He said and Xena smiled, "most people here don't know you but I'm here to tell them that when they do get to know you they'll find that you are an amazing woman. I believe you have a lot to offer Ithaca and even so you have already done more than enough by making this great man here happy." He said and Xena smiled at Virgil nodding her thanks, "now when I read this to Camilla for her opinion she told me that wasn't nearly enough for a proper speech so I wrote a little something and I hope you like it." He said as he unfolded a piece of parchment and began reading.

"Marriage is a commitment to life, to the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other human relationship can equal; a joining that is promised for a lifetime. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships. A wife and a husband are each other's best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic. There may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child.

Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller; memories are fresher; commitment is stronger; even anger is felt more strongly, and passes away more quickly. Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing love through the seasons of life. When two people pledge to love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique to themselves, which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential, made in the hearts of two people who love, which takes a lifetime to fulfill."

He finished and he raised his glass and looked at him, "so I said all of that to say this, I've never seen people so in love like the two of you are and I hope in time that love grows. There will be times when your love will be tested but if you believe in one another the bond you have can not be broken. So, to Ulysses and Xena, may you guys have an everlasting love," Virgil said as he raised the glass in the air. "To Ulysses and Xena," the rest of the room said and Xena and Ulysses smiled then leaned in and kissed each other. The people clapped for Virgil and his great speech and for Xena and Ulysses, "that was beautiful," Camilla told Virgil as she leaned in and kissed him.

Thirty minutes later Ulysses leaned into Xena, "I believe its time for us to dance," he said and she grinned at him as he stood and held out his hand and she placed her hand in his. "Good afternoon everyone, my name is Etta," she said as she stood off to the side by the musicians. "I had the pleasure of running into Ulysses when he was a wild teenager with a chip on his shoulder but he also had a great passion for life and music." She said and Ulysses grinned at her as he stood off to the side with Xena. "I could tell by many of your faces that you didn't know Ulysses could sing, well I think you'll be even more surprised to know that he can write the songs as well as sing them.

Ulysses called me here to sing a song for his wedding day, well after I got over the initial shock that he was getting married," she said and everyone chuckled and laughed. "I knew what song I would sing. This is a song Ulysses wrote and I told him I would hold that song for him until one day he had found the person he was meant to be with," she said then looked over to then. "Now Ulysses thought he was going to tell me what song to sing but he wasn't," she said with the tone of a mother and Ulysses laughed at her as did everyone else. "Xena you are that person and I am so happy that he has found you," Etta said and with that the music to the song began playing, Xena and Ulysses walked out onto the dance floor and Etta began singing.

Ulysses grinned as he pulled Xena into the middle of the floor, he wrapped his arm around her, her arm went around his shoulder and Ulysses held Xena's hand holding it close to his chest as they began to move to the music. "At Last, My love has come along, my lonely days are over and life is like a song. Ooooh...At last, the skies above are blue, my heart was wrapped in clover the night I looked at you." Etta sang and they danced to it, Ulysses then let Xena's hand go and she wrapped her other arm around his shoulder and ran her fingers through his hair as they continued to move to the music. She closed her eyes and just moved to the music and everyone else watched them dance, "I found a dream that I could speak to, a dream that I…can call my own.

I found a thrill…to press my cheek to…a thrill that I…have never known, oh yeah, yeah you smile...you smile oh and then the spell was cast. And here we are in heaven for you are mine…at last," there was a musical interlude and Xena and Ulysses continued to dance, Xena found herself caressing Ulysses' cheek and he fell into her touch. "I found a dream that I could speak to, a dream that I could call my own. I found a thrill to press my cheek to, a thrill that I have never known. Well...you smile, you smile ooh and then the spell was cast and here we are in heaven for you are mine at last. Ooo yea, you are mine...At Last," and as the song came to an end they looked into each others eyes then leaned in and shared a soft but passionate kiss. The guests clapped and when the kiss ended they smiled at each other, more music played and some got up and danced while others mingled around.

"I'm so proud of you my son," Julian said to Ulysses who was talking with Virgil and some of the other royals from other kingdoms. "Thanks dad," Ulysses said and Julian nodded, "always, always do right by your wife, put her before yourself and love her always no matter what," Julian said and Ulysses looked into his father's eyes. "I will," he said and Julian nodded then raised his glass and Ulysses raised his, "to marriage, our wives and happiness," Julian said and Ulysses smiled as he and his father shared a private toast. Xena was off mingling with people, talking with her mother and marguerite and some people from other kingdoms who she found to be friendlier than some of the nobles from Ithaca.

Xena found that she had a little more in common with the families of some of the advisors, the women were certainly much more acceptable of her. She talked, laughed and had fun, she danced with Toris, Lyceus, Julian, Virgil and a few of the more friendly advisors asked her to dance and she did. "Xena its time to cut the cake," Camilla said and Xena and Ulysses walked over to the table where the cake was. Cyrene handed Xena the knife and Ulysses put his hand on top of hers and they smiled as they began to cut the cake, when it was cut they each picked up a small piece and fed it to each other. They laughed with the crowd when they got icing on their lips and cheeks, they leaned in and kissed each other then picked up their glasses. They locked their arms together and drinked from their glasses and they were still smiling and laughing, Corrinna handed them both a cloth to wipe their hands and faces.

Xena and Ulysses had a wonderful time as they danced to songs, some slow and others fast. "Are you happy my love?" Ulysses asked as they danced to the last slow song they would dance to for the night. "I couldn't be happier," she said and Ulysses grinned as he held her tight. "And are you happy?" Xena asked Ulysses as she pulled back and looked into his eyes while she ran her fingers through his hair, "ecstatic," he said and Xena smiled as she leaned in and kissed Ulysses softly and then they continued to dance to the song. The evening was getting late so when the song was over Xena threw her bouquet and low and behold Camilla was the one to catch it and she blushed hard as she did and looked around the room and her eyes happened to catch Virgil's eyes and he looked at her then grinned as he raised his glass in a salute and she grinned at him.

Xena and Ulysses thanked all of their guests for coming then left, Xena went to their room and Ulysses went back to Virgil's room where they changed into more comfortable clothes. Xena was in the room, she had changed into a more comfortable dress but it still hugged all of her curves. She stood into the mirror and looked at herself, she looked down at the rings on her finger and grinned to herself. "You're a married woman now," Cyrene said as she walked into the room and Xena grinned as she turned and looked at her mother as Cyrene walked up to her and she met her half way. "My little one is all grown up," Cyrene said as she placed a lock of hair behind Xena's ear, tears filling her eyes as she looked upon her daughter with pride and happiness in her eyes.

"Oh momma," Xena said and Cyrene just grinned as she pulled Xena to her and hugged her tightly. "I'm so proud of you Xena, I have always been proud of you, you have turned into a great, intelligent, loving and caring woman. Ulysses is lucky to have you," she said then pulled back and caressed Xena's cheek as tears rolled down her face. "I'm going to miss you," Cyrene said and Xena grinned as she took her mothers hands in her own, "I'm not going any where, I'll always be your daughter, I'll come visit often and I'll write to you and you know if there's anything you need, if there's trouble or you just want to send me just send a message and let me know and I'll be right there," Xena said and Cyrene grinned at her and hugged her once more.

"You're going to be a great wife, just go with your instincts and you'll be alright. There's no more advice I can give you than what I already have," Cyrene said and Xena grinned at her, "Thank you for everything mom, I owe all this to you," she said and Cyrene grinned at her daughter. "I just want you to be happy Xena, that's all I've ever wanted, just for you to be happy," "Come on Gemini," Xena called to the wolf who was lying on the bed and Gemini got down and ran over to her mistress. Xena and her mother walked out of the bedroom into the sitting room, Xena had already packed her things for the honeymoon and they had been taken to the ship they were using. Cyrene and Xena along with Gemini left the room and headed to the front of the palace where Ulysses and the carriage would be waiting for her.

When they got there Xena hugged her brothers and Corrinna goodbye, "you guys have a safe trip," Xena told them. "You too," Toris said then shook Ulysses' hand and hugged him. "You take care of her," he said and Ulysses nodded as he pulled back. "You know I will," he said and then he hugged his mother, placing a kiss on her cheek then shook his father's hand. Julian talked to Ulysses for a couple of minutes giving him some last minute advice. He then hugged his sister and he and Virgil clowned around for a couple of minutes before it was time for them to go. Ulysses held his hand out to Xena and she grinned as she placed her hand in his and they walked over to the carriage. He helped her in and then got in behind her, Gemini already in the carriage.

They hung their heads out of the medium sized window and waved good bye to their families as the carriage began to move away. After a minute they relaxed in the carriage and Xena leaned against Ulysses as she looked out of the window looking on as the sun began to set. They sat there in silence as they held each other's hands their fingers playing with each other and it became more when Xena raised her head and looked into Ulysses' eyes and they met for a soft kiss that soon turned very passionate. They continued to kiss, taking little breaths of air until the carriage began to slow down, "I think we're there," Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded as caressed his chest through his shirt as she leaned back in for a kiss.

"My lord we're here," the head guard said and Ulysses nodded as he tried to catch his breath. "Hold that thought," Ulysses told Xena, "that sweet, sweet thought," Ulysses said and Xena smiled as Ulysses leaned back in and kissed her. When the kiss ended he opened the door and got out and helped Xena out and Gemini jumped out afterwards. Hand in hand they walked up the plank of the ship and Xena looked at the huge ship in amazement and Ulysses grinned. "Our cabin is down those stairs, I'll be down in a minute I just want to make sure that everything is going as planned," Ulysses said and Xena grinned and nodded before she leaned in and kissed him softly.

"Don't be long," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and nodded then watched as Xena walked down the stairs. Ulysses cleared his throat then turned and went to go talk to Jarvin, the Captain of the ship. "My lord," Jarvin said, "how's our trip looking Jarvin?" Ulysses asked and Jarvin nodded as he stood at the helm, "it's looking well my lord, we have good winds, we should be in Egypt in two weeks," he said and Ulysses nodded. "Well I leave everything in your hands, the royal guards are there if you need them and you'll forgive me if I don't poke my head up for a couple of days," he said with a grin and Jarvis grinned and nodded.

Ulysses talked to the head guard for a couple of minutes before he headed downstairs to the cabin. He walked into the cabin and locked the door behind him then looked around the romantic room. There were candles lit everywhere, cream white silk sheets on the bed with red rose petals scattered all over. "Ulysses," Xena called, "yeah?" He answered as he looked around, "I'll be out in a minute," Xena said from the small changing room she was in. "Take your time," he said then sat down and took off his boots and loosened his shirt some. "The wedding was beautiful," Xena said from the room, "yes it was, I even have to admit it was perfect," he said as he stood and walked over to a small table to pour himself and Xena a glass of wine.

"I had a great time and some of the royals from other kingdoms were really nice," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Yea, some of them are nice and others aren't so nice but they need our allegiance so they pretend to be otherwise," Ulysses said. "Why is that? I mean Ithaca is a small kingdom," Xena said. "We aren't that small," Ulysses said with laughter in his voice. "But besides our size, we are formidable in numbers when we need to be, we have money, as well as good influence on some very powerful people, it pays to lend a hand without be asked," he said. "I look forward to learning more," Xena said and Ulysses turned around as she opened the door and he watched her walk out.

"I look forward to teaching you more," he said with a grin. "Wow you look…" Ulysses said then shook his head as he looked at how beautiful Xena was, she was so beautiful he was at a loss for words. "Wow!" He said again and Xena smiled, "I take it you approve?" She asked and Ulysses smiled and nodded as he encircled Xena in his arms, "I more than approve," he said as he looked over Xena. She wore a white silk gown that seemed to show off all of her curves, the gown fell just below her knees and it hugged her thighs and waist.

It covered her breasts but left most of the tops showing much to Ulysses' delight and the straps were thin which left Xena's shoulders uncovered. Xena watched Ulysses and she smiled, "Ulysses," she called and he looked at Xena, "yea?" He answered and Xena continued to smile. "You're drooling," she said and Ulysses closed him mouth and grinned at Xena who had a full fledged smile on her face. "Sorry, but you look absolutely stunning," Ulysses said as he took Xena's hand and turned her around so that he could see the back and Ulysses saw there was no back. All of Xena's back was out and the dress only began where Xena's butt began, "mmm...you look good enough to eat."

He said as Xena turned back around and she moved closer placing her hand on Ulysses' cheek and the other on his arm, "then why don't you?" She asked and with a seductive purr. Ulysses just took Xena's lips in a passionate tasting of lips and as they kissed their hands began to roam, they continued to kiss off and on and as they continued to kiss Xena's hands went to Ulysses' shirt and she began unbuttoning the rest of the buttons. When she had all of the buttons undone she opened Ulysses' shirt and pushed it off of his shoulders where Ulysses let it fall to the floor and when the kiss ended Xena looked over Ulysses' chest before she leaned in and placed a few soft kisses there.

Ulysses closed his eyes for a moment then ran his fingers through her hair and met her for a soft, passionate kiss. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes and Xena kissed Ulysses ever so softly once more before she back up then turned and headed over to the bed. The bed had a white sheer curtain around it and Xena walked on one side and Ulysses walked on the other side and they could see each other. Xena parted the curtain and got into the bed and Ulysses looked into her eyes as he did the same. When they got in from either side the met each other in the middle of the bed and as they kneeled face to face they just looked into each other's eyes.

Ulysses placed his hands on Xena's neck as he leaned in and Xena smiled when their lips brushed against each others. They continued to look into each other's eyes as Xena brought her hands up and caressed Ulysses' arms and they both moaned as their lips were sealed in and passionate kiss. As they kissed they slowly laid down, Ulysses laying half on Xena and half on the bed. They laid there for a while kissing passionately, tasting each others lips and removing their clothes until they laid there on the bed naked, caressing each other, Xena's leg rubbing up and down Ulysses' legs as she ran her fingers through his hair while they shared a passionate kiss.

"Mmmm," Xena moaned when the kiss ended and she opened her eyes and looked into Ulysses' eyes as she caressed his cheek. "What?" Xena asked with a grin and Ulysses shook his head as he looked into her eyes while he ran his fingers through her hair before he leaned down and kissed her softly. "I love you," Ulysses whispered when the kiss ended and Xena smiled at him, "I love you too," she said then gave him a soft kiss. "And this is our wedding night so show me what you can do," she said with a grin and Ulysses smiled as he rubbed his lips against hers. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he said and Xena grinned then moaned as they shared a passionate kiss.

As time progressed Ulysses slowly kissed Xena's body from head to toe, he worshipped every last part of her and Xena couldn't help but moan and push into his hands. When he got to her breasts, he caressed the beautiful globes before he sucked on her hardened peaks, moaning at the feel of her nipple in his mouth and Xena moaned as she arched into him. He spent a lot of time on her breasts, just caressing them, kissing them and sucking on them to his hearts content before he began to kiss the rest of his way down and when he was finally nestled between her thighs, Xena looked up at the ceiling, eyes and mouth opened in wonder as it would constantly be the entire night.

"Ummm," Ulysses moaned as he sucked on Xena's neither lips, which were coated in her sweet honey. "Unnnghhh," Xena moaned as her back arched off of the bed while her hands gripped Ulysses' shoulders. He sucked, nibbled and licked every inch of her, holding on tight to her thighs as he did so and there were times where he came up for air long enough to clean the inside of her thighs before he delved back into to his delicious treat and wonderful task. "Unnnghhh…ohhh Ulysses," Xena moaned as she bit down on her lower lip and her release began to ripple through her. Ulysses cleaned up the evidence of her release, cleaned her thighs then kissed, sucked and nibbled his way back up her body.

When he was nestled between Xena's legs they looked into each others eyes and Xena grinned at Ulysses as she rose up and tasted his lips, tasting herself on them. "Did you have a good time down there?" She asked and Ulysses chuckled as he leaned down and sucked on her neck, "mmmm," Xena moaned as she closed her eyes and arched into him. "I had a wonderful time," he whispered in her ear just before he sucked on her earlobe. When he raised his head Xena looked into his eyes then pulled him down for a very passionate kiss, "mmmm…mmm," Ulysses moaned as Xena's tongue invaded his mouth and she kissed him so passionately it made him weak in his knees.

Eventually as time rolled on she rolled him onto his back and began to explore him just as he did her. When she reached his most sensitive spots she tested them to the fullest until the room was filled with his moans. And when she finally got to his main organ, his main pleasure spot, she had fun like she never had before. "Oh…gods," Ulysses groaned as he closed his eyes tightly while Xena sucked on just his head while running her tongue over it. He gripped her hair tightly and Xena moaned as she looked up at Ulysses, loving the sight before her. She didn't stop her sweet torture until Ulysses let out a moan that was between a small cry and a groan while his seed shot into her mouth and some onto him.

"Mmm," Xena moaned as she cleaned his head then kissed her way back up, caressing his chest and placing kisses all over his chest, stopping to suck and pull on his nipples with her teeth. When she was face to face with him they shared a passionate kiss, Ulysses pulling Xena down on top of him until all of her weight was on him and he moaned from that wonderful sensation. Time passed and they were in no rush as they began to make love for the first time as husband and wife. Half an hour later, moans, small cries and whimpers filled the cabin and from the foot of the bed one would be able to Xena the passionate scene before them.

Xena was on top riding Ulysses slowly yet hard as she pressed her hips down and added a little twist to the movement. Ulysses moaned and groaned as he ran his hands over her thighs, "Unnngh…unnnn," Xena moaned as she tilted her head back. "Ssss…unnnghhh," Ulysses moaned as his body jerked in pleasure, his eyes closed tightly as he held on to Xena's waist. He pried his eyes open and looked at the beautiful sight before him, Xena looked like a goddess and he brought his hands up to caress her breasts. Xena looked down at Ulysses and their eyes connected as she placed her hands on his chest and rode him harder and Ulysses groaned in pleasure as he looked at her for as long as he could until she began doing things she had never done before, things that were making him whimper to the point he turned his head to the side.

"Oh…yeah, Unnnnghhh," Xena moaned as she bit down on her bottom lips and she became increasingly wetter when she saw the extreme pleasure she was causing Ulysses. After a couple of minutes she leaned down and kissed and sucked on his chest and neck and Ulysses caressed her back, his fingers digging into her skin as she still continued to move her hips. After a while Ulysses was able to roll Xena onto her back and show her what he was capable of. By this time, a sheen of sweat was covering their bodies, had there been a sheet covering them it would have clung to them in every way.

Ulysses laid between Xena's legs thrusting hard and deep into her as they shared passionate kisses. Ulysses was kissing Xena in a way that he had never kissed her before, the way he tasted her lips was amazing and it set her on fire as well as the way his tongue would caress hers. However, Xena showed him a couple of things as well so both were surprised by the other. Fifteen minutes later when a very passionate kiss ended and they had come up for air Ulysses kissed and sucked on Xena's neck making his way to a spot that he knew she was particularly sensitive to. When he reached that spot he pulled on it with his teeth then sucked on it, "Unnn," Xena moaned as she bit down on her bottom lip while caressing Ulysses' sweaty back and running her fingers through his hair.

Everything Ulysses was doing felt so good, Xena couldn't imagine it getting any better but obviously Ulysses could because he took her to new height. He caressed her thighs just before he placed his hands on them and pushed them outward and he rose himself up and pushed deeper into Xena who let out a cry of pleasure and surprised as Ulysses went so deep and caused great pleasure. "Unnnngh….unnnnghhhh," Xena moaned as her nails dug into his back, "Ooohhhhh…Unnnnn," Ulysses moaned as he thrust into her, he himself was somewhat surprised at the extreme pleasure that act had caused. Ulysses' eyes were closed tightly as he rose himself up on his hands, his grunts, moans and heavy breathing filling the room along with Xena's small cries, moans and whimpers.

"Aaaahhhhh…gods, Unnnnghhhh," Xena cried out as she slammed her head into the pillow and Ulysses moaned loudly as he leaned down and kissed her passionately. "You feel so good, so warm and…unnnnghhh…so wet," he whispered against her lips and Xena opened her eyes and looked into Ulysses' eyes as she caressed his cheek. As she looked into his eyes she took his hand and placed it on her thigh and with his help, pushed her thigh outwards and Ulysses grunted and moaned loudly as he thrust harder, deeper and a little faster into Xena. Ulysses leaned down and kissed Xena passionate and when the kiss ended he kissed and sucked on any flesh that was available and Xena laid there and whimpered as tears of love and pleasure filled her eyes.

"You like that?" Ulysses whispered in her ear, "unnnghhhh…yes baby I love that…unnnghhhh…ssss….I love you," Xena whimpered back into Ulysses' ear and it sent shivers through his body. As time progressed they both could feel the other's release approaching. Xena squeezed Ulysses with her thighs as she ran her nails all over his body, leaving small scratches in some places while she dug her fingers else where while they shared passionate kisses. And when they weren't kissing their lips were still busy doing other things. "Harder," Xena moaned between a kiss and Ulysses moaned as he thrust harder, his grunts being swallowed up by Xena's mouth.

Harder and faster he thrust into Xena and when the kiss ended he kiss on her neck, "un…un…un…un," he grunted and moaned as he did so and Xena moaned as she held on to his back. The closer he felt them getting the harder he went and it drove him crazy when Xena began meeting him thrust for thrust, no woman had ever been able to do that, no one had ever matched him in the bed area until now. Once, twice, and on the third thrust Ulysses moaned loudly as his powerful release began to tear through his body. "Unnnnghhhhghgh," he moaned and on the final fourth thrust Xena fell over with him, the tears that were in her eyes rolled down the sides of her face.

Ulysses raised his head and looked into Xena's eyes, sharing his soul with her as she did with him. They looked into each other's eyes for a long time and when their release had finally turned into small tremors they shared a small, passionate kiss. When the kiss ended Ulysses rested his forehead against Xena's and they just laid there and looked into each other's eyes, Xena caressing Ulysses' cheek. "Are you tired?" Xena asked him after a couple of minutes and Ulysses grinned as he looked at her and shook his head, "no, you?" He asked and Xena smiled as she shook her head and rose up meeting him for a kiss and they went for another round of lovemaking.

An hour later they lay on the bed, Ulysses spooning Xena, the sheet covering their bodies as they laid there in silence in each other's arms. Xena ran her fingers over Ulysses' arm as they laid their basking in the after glow of their lovemaking. Ulysses let out a content breath as he wrapped his arm tighter around Xena then placed a kiss on the back of her neck. "You sleep?" He asked her softly and Xena grinned as she shook her head, "no," she said then turned on her back some and looked up at Ulysses. "This day has been the most perfect day in my life," she said and he grinned at her, "as it has been for me," he said then leaned down and kissed Xena softly, their lips lingering for just a moment more when the kiss ended. Xena turned back on her side, she pulled the sheet up tighter around her to cover her breasts and they just laid there in each other's arms thinking about how happy they were and soon without even knowing it they dosed off to sleep.

**Continued in Chapter Fifteen:**

**The Honeymoon to Egypt**

**Let me know what you think. **

**Negative and positive feedback is welcomed, it is encouraged. **


	15. Chapter 15 Part I

**A Different Time, A Better Time**

**By: ARS Williams**

**Disclaimer:** Xena and all other characters from Xena: Warrior Princess are not mine, they don't belong to me. They belong to USA Universal Studios and all those other great people. All of the rest of the characters in this story are mine. There are also a few songs in the story, don't worry this isn't a musical. Just special times, like dancing, when a song is being played, so the songs aren't mine either.

**Sex Warning:** Yes there is some sex between a male and female as well as implications towards sex in this story. It wouldn't be a story with out a little lovemaking. If you're not old enough to read it then don't and if it's too much for you, then my apologies, I have a very vivid imagination. lol 

**Subtext Warning:** There's a little cursing but nothing to run home and tell mother about. And there is also reference to two women being together. There is no more violence than your regular Xena episode.

**Chapter 15: The Honeymoon to Egypt**

**Part I**

When morning came Ulysses woke up and he looked around the room before he looked down into his arms. He smiled as all the memories from yesterday came flooding back and he looked down at his hand where he saw the thick, gold band that was his wedding band on his finger. "I'm a married man now," he thought to himself with a smile on his face then looked down at Xena as she continued to sleep. He caressed her arm then leaned down and placed a kiss on her shoulder, slowly moving his way up. "Mmm," Xena moaned then smiled as she was awaken in a delightful way. "Good morning," she said as she turned over onto her back some and looked into Ulysses' eyes and he smiled down at her, "good morning," he said then leaned down and kissed her softly.

"Mmm…my wife," he said with a grin and Xena smiled at him as she ran her fingers through his hair. "My husband," she said then chuckled as they shared a kiss that soon became passionate and Ulysses settled between Xena's legs. As they kissed Xena ran her hands all over Ulysses' body and he pulled the sheet out of the way so that he could get to her soft flesh, he wanted to taste every last inch of her, making passionate love to her until she was begging him to stop and that was exactly what he was going to do. Xena also had it in her mind that she was going to drive Ulysses insane, this would be the best honeymoon ever for both of them. Three hours later after they had gone through three rounds of lovemaking and were just finishing up their last round of lovemaking for the time being.

Xena kissed Ulysses passionately one more time before he fell back on the bed with a huge smile on his face and Xena grinned as she laid on her side and looked at him, while she ran her fingers over his sweaty chest. "That was amazing," Xena said and Ulysses grinned and nodded, "yes it was," he said then picked up Xena's hand and placed a kiss on it before he leaned over and kissed her softly then let out a breath as he looked into her eyes and she looked into his. "I love you," he said and Xena smiled at him, "I know, how many times did you cry it out," Xena said with a grin and Ulysses chuckled at her. "Some of the things you were doing were wicked," he said and Xena smiled, "well I do try," she said and he grinned and nodded.

"I don't recall teaching you that," he said and Xena grinned, "what? I can't have an imagination?" She asked and he raised an eyebrow at that as he grinned and nodded. "Yes you can but I wonder, does your imagination have any limits?" He asked and Xena smiled, "wouldn't you like to know," she said then kissed him softly and Ulysses moaned as he caressed her cheek. "Your lips are so soft," he said then leaned back in for another kiss and Xena moaned as she ran her hand over Ulysses' shoulder and arm. When the kiss ended Ulysses leaned his forehead against Xena's and looked at her, "I'm hungry, are you hungry?" He asked and she grinned and nodded, "yeah, I could eat some fruit or something," she said and Ulysses grinned as he placed a kiss on her forehead then got out of the bed as naked as the day he was born and looked around the room for his pants.

When he found them he slipped them on as well as a shirt, "I'll be right back," he said and Xena nodded and just when Ulysses opened the door and was about to walk through it she said three words that made his heart skip a beat. "I love you," she said and Ulysses grinned then headed out the door where he proceeded to the mess area or on this particular ship, the kitchen and went to see if he could get them something to eat. While he did that Xena laid in the bed and she stared up at the ceiling, she was so happy at that moment that she didn't know what to do at that moment. Gemini jumped up on the bed and Xena rubbed her then she settled at the foot of the bed.

After a while she looked down at the rings on her finger, "I'm married now, I'm Ulysses' wife," she said to herself and she held the sheet to her chest as she sat up in the bed. She sat there thinking about that and how happy she was until Ulysses walked back into the room with a tray in his hands, closing the door with his foot. She smiled at him and he smiled at her as he walked over to the bed and sat the tray down on the bed, "well I got an assortment of fruits and cheeses, some cider to wash it all down with as well as some toast," he said and Xena nodded as she listened to him talk and his voice was like music to her ears and all of a sudden she was no longer hungry or she was but just not for food.

"It looks like a pretty day up top and…" the last of his words got stuck in his mouth as Xena leaned in and kissed him softly but passionately. When the kiss ended she looked into his eyes as she caressed his cheek, "not that I'm complaining but what was that for?" He asked and Xena grinned as she took the tray off of the bed and sat it on the floor then moved closer to Ulysses until she was sitting on his lap, looking into his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Because I love you," she said then leaned in and kissed him passionately, "mmmm," he moaned. "I love you…isn't that reason enough," Xena asked after the kiss ended and Ulysses grinned and he placed Xena's hair behind her ears, "more than enough," he said and Xena grinned then leaned back in and they shared another passionate kiss.

Ulysses parted the sheet and caressed Xena's body and Xena moaned as she continued to kiss Ulysses and they just sat there for a while passionately kissing. After a while they began to make love again and this time Xena showed Ulysses just what she could do, what she was really capable of. An hour Ulysses, sweaty and exhausted, fell back on the bed with a smile on his face then ran his fingers through Xena's hair as she placed a few kisses on his chest. "I think you've been holding out," he said with a grin and Xena smiled as she leaned down and kissed him softly then let out a breath as she fell back on the bed.

"I can't show you all my hidden talents," she said with a grin and they laid there for a while in silence until Xena remembered she was hungry and Ulysses had brought food. She reached over Ulysses and he grinned as he placed his hand on Xena's back and helped her bring the tray onto the bed. "You could have just asked," he said and Xena grinned at him as she sat the tray between them. "Where is the fun in that?" She asked with a grin then began eating and Ulysses joined her, after they ate they laid in bed and talked for a while then dosed off to sleep.

The first couple of days on their honeymoon they spent just with each other, the only time either of them left the cabin it was to go and get something to eat. On the fourth day, they stopped at a town and Xena wanted to go shopping so Ulysses took her, he would do whatever it is that she wanted to do, buy her whatever she wanted. They walked hand in hand down the streets of the busy town looking at different things, trying different foods and he delighted in seeing her smile. When the day ended they always ended up in each other's arms.

The next day, they were back on their way to Egypt and Xena and Ulysses spent most of the day lounging around in bed, talking to each other, clowning around and their most favorite activity, making love. They fell asleep in each others arms and when they woke it was two hours before midnight. They got up, dressed then headed to the mess area for a late meal.

They sat there for a while after they ate then headed up deck where Ulysses asked Jarvin if he could take the helm of the ship. Jarvin was fine with that especially since he was eager to take the break and it wasn't like he was going to tell Ulysses no. Jarvin went to get some sleep while Ulysses steered and Xena talked to him for a while before she went about doing things on the ship. They stayed up all night with Ulysses showing Xena how to steer the ship and she smiled as she took the helm and he stood behind her showing her how to steer but mostly because he wanted to be that close to her, he wanted to feel her against him.

"I think you've got it from here," he said and Xena grinned as she nodded then moaned as Ulysses leaned in and kissed her passionately, his arm still tightly wrapped around Xena's waist. When the kiss ended they grinned at each other and Ulysses stood close by for a while and they talked for a while before he did a few things on the ship. When morning came they watched the sun rise together and by then Jarvin took the helm while Xena stood at the railing and Ulysses stood behind her holding her in his arms. Together they watched the sun come up and Jarvin watched as they shared a passionate kiss, a kiss that showed two people very much in love.

It took them a week and three days to reach the outskirts of Egypt and Xena and Ulysses enjoyed each and every one of those days. They made love often and they also found themselves teasing each other which kept them wanting. They talked often about any and everything, they joked and laughed. They just spent time with each other and they enjoyed it more than anyone could really understand, more than just the good love making brought them closer together. It was the fact that they talked about their wants, dreams, goals and anything that was on their mind, they were getting to know each other on a deeper level. They reached the outskirts of Egypt on the third day and it would be two hours before dinner when they reached land. Ulysses and Xena had been lounging around that day and were getting ready.

By the time their ship made dock, the sun was just beginning to set Xena and Ulysses were ready to go. They wanted their honeymoon to be a personal affair so they hadn't informed Cleopatra that they were coming to Egypt and their banners weren't up on the ship. Ulysses wore his usual black leather pants with a white sleeveless shirt with blue trimming on the sleeves. He ran his fingers through his hair then smiled and turned around when he felt Xena's hands on his shoulders. He looked over her and grinned, "my gorgeous wife," he said and she smiled. She wore a plain yet eloquent red dress that fell down to the middle of her legs.

The straps were thin and the dress hugged her many curves highlighting them in many ways. Her hair was in a ponytail and she wore sandals with a nice heel to them. "My handsome husband," she said and he grinned, "well you know I try but I don't come close to you," he said and she grinned at him as she ran her hands up his muscled arms. "So I've been putting this off until we got to Egypt," she said and he looked at her. "What?" He asked and she looked into his eyes, "how much do you love me?" She asked and he grinned as he looked at her, "how much do you love me?" He asked back pushing him with her body as she grinned, "point taken," she said. "What I want to know is how much you plan on spoiling your wife on our honeymoon?" She asked with a smile and he grinned at her.

"Well I hadn't planned on spending any money on you at all," he said pretending to think about it and she grinned as she pushed him. "You better buy me something," she said as she grabbed his shirt and he grinned as he looked into her beautiful eyes, "is that a demand my Queen?" He asked and she looked into his eyes as she ran her hand over his cheek, "you bet it is," she said and he grinned as he leaned down and met her half way as they kissed. "Just so you know I had planned on spoiling you until you begged me to stop," he said when the kiss ended. "Never," she said then kissed him again. They shared a few passionate tasting of lips before they headed back up deck.

When they got there they were just docking and when the platform was let down an emissary from Egypt was waiting for them. Ulysses looked at the man as he bowed his head, "Prince Ulysses I presume?" The man asked and Ulysses looked at him, "depends on who's asking," he said and the man looked at him and took a step forward. "My name is Hotep, one of the head advisors to Queen Cleopatra," he said and Ulysses let out a breath when he realized that their presence had not and would not go unnoticed. "How can I help you Hotep?" Ulysses asked and Hotep looked at him, "first, on behalf on Queen Cleopatra I welcome you to Egypt." He said and Ulysses nodded, "secondly, my Queen wishes to speak with you and your wife," he said as he looked passed Ulysses to Xena who was still on the ship.

"How did she know we were coming here?" Xena asked and Hotep looked at her, "Egypt has its ways," he said and Xena rolled her eyes as she let out a breath. Ulysses looked at Hotep then at Xena, "well?" He asked and she let out a breath, "we can't be rude," she said and he looked at her, "yes we can," he said and she grinned at him. "Ulysses," she said in that knowing tone and he let out a breath as he turned and looked at Hotep. "Fine but we're not staying," he said and Hotep bowed his head. Ulysses shook his head and looked at Xena who had walked down next to him, "what do you suppose Cleopatra wants?" Xena asked and Ulysses hunched his shoulders, "maybe she wants to congratulate us on getting married," he said with a grin and then looked into each other's eyes.

"I don't think so," they both said at the same time and they laughed at each other. Xena wrapped her arm around Ulysses' shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her as they looked into each other's eyes. "Whatever it is we won't let it ruin our honeymoon, this is our time," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Exactly what I was thinking," she said then leaned in and kissed him softly. They stood their sharing a soft, passionate kiss until Jarvin cleared his throat. "My lord?" He asked, wondering what they were going to do, if they were going to stay or leave. "You can settle in Jarvin," Ulysses said and Jarvin nodded as he bowed his head. Ulysses and Xena headed down the docks following Hotep until they came to a carriage that would take them to the palace.

Hotep got in first then Ulysses helped Xena in and he got in behind her. Instead of horses taking them to the palace it was men carrying this large loft on their shoulders. The Egyptian way to travel Ulysses assumed. "So what does Cleopatra want to see us for?" Xena asked and Hotep looked at her, "the Queen wishes to speak with you, about what I do not know." He said and Ulysses and Xena both nodded but they figured he knew something about what Cleopatra wanted to talk to them about. It took them fifteen minutes to reach the palace and when they were there they looked around once they were off of the moving pallet. The land was indeed beautiful Xena and Ulysses both thought as they looked around. They followed Hotep into the palace looking casually looking around as they walked down the many halls.

"Wait here," Hotep said as when they stopped and they looked at him as he walked into a room. Hotep walked into the main hall and Cleopatra sat up in her chair, "Hotep were you successful?" She asked and he bowed his head, "yes my Queen I was," he said and she stood and walked down the stairs that lead to her throne. "Well where are they?" She asked and he looked at her, "my Queen my I introduce the Prince and Princess of Ithaca," he said then moved to side. Ulysses walked into the hall with Xena at his side, Xena's eyes went to Cleopatra and she sized the woman up as she was sure Cleopatra was doing her. Cleopatra was younger than Xena thought but she was just as beautiful as she had heard.

"Prince Ulysses," Cleopatra said and Ulysses looked at her, "Queen Cleopatra it is indeed an honor." He said as he bowed his head a little and she grinned at him then looked at Xena. "Ah Athena's Chosen," Cleopatra said and Xena gave her a small smile, "Xena," she said then slightly bowed her head, "Queen Cleopatra," she said. "Cleopatra I don't mean to be short but you asked us here for a reason?" Ulysses asked and Cleopatra looked at him, "yes. I found out you were near and headed this way so I thought I'd invite you to the palace." She said and he looked at her, "that's nice of you and we are deeply honored but as I'm sure you've heard, we're on our honeymoon," he said and she nodded.

"I had indeed heard, the prince of Ithaca married to Athena's Chosen. Who hasn't heard?" Athena asked and Xena looked at this woman who ruled over such a great country and kingdom. "Is that important to you, my being Athena's Chosen?" Xena asked as she walked up to Cleopatra who looked at her, raising an eyebrow at Xena's brazen and bold ways but she was intrigued none the less. "Could possibly, Athena is the main god that we worship here in Egypt," she said and Xena nodded and before Cleopatra and Ulysses' eyes she became Athena's Chosen. Her appearance didn't change as so much as the way she held herself and began to talk and move.

"I do know that," she said then walked up closer to Cleopatra. "Here I stand before Egypt herself," Xena said. "I am indeed in awe," she said and Cleopatra looked into her eyes, where she saw such strength, power and warmth. "And here I stand before the second hand of a God, it is I who is in awe," Cleopatra said and Xena looked into her eyes and grinned. "I'm just Xena right now," she said then turned and walked over to Ulysses smiling as he held out his hand and she placed her hand in his. "Wife to Ulysses," she said as she caressed his cheek before she moved to the side and looked at Cleopatra. "And we are looking to enjoy our honeymoon without any problems," Xena said.

"I understand but regrettably I need your help with something," she said and Ulysses let out a silent breath as he looked down. "Cleopatra please understand that it's not that we don't want to help you but we've been dealing with our problems and other people's problems for a while now. We were just married two weeks ago and we came her because we thought Egypt was a great place to come and have our honeymoon, a place where we could enjoy ourselves, relax and not have to worry about anything." Xena said as she ran her hand up and down Ulysses' arm. "I understand and I was reluctant to ask for your help but when I heard you were coming here I could not pass the chance to ask for your help up."

Cleopatra said then looked directly at Xena because she was asking more for her help, the help of Athena's Chosen than she was of Ulysses' help. "You are Athena's Chosen, it is said you help people in need Xena," Cleopatra said and Xena nodded, "it's true I do but…" she said but Cleopatra interrupted her before she could finish. "Then please, I need your help, I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't really need it." She said and Xena let out a breath and looked up at Ulysses who looked at her. "Will you please think about it besides, name a better place to have a honeymoon than in the great Egyptian palace," Cleopatra said and Ulysses looked at her then at Xena who let out a breath then looked at Cleopatra.

"Why don't you two stay for the night? Have dinner with me tonight where we will have a good time while we get to know each other and I'll tell you what my problem is so that you may have some time to think about it. In the morning over breakfast you'll give me your answer and if you agree to help I will be forever grateful and find a way to repay you. If not then I'll thank you for listening and you may spend the remainder of your time here in the palace and I assure you, you will not be disturbed." She said then looked at them with hope in her eyes, Ulysses looked at her then at Xena who looked at Cleopatra. "We'll take you up on that invitation," she said and Cleopatra smiled at them.

"Excellent," she said then raised her hand signaling a servant over. "This is Shianna, she will show you to your quarters where all of your things have been brought." Cleopatra said and they nodded, "if you'll excuse me I have a few things to see to before dinner tonight," she said and they all bowed their heads as she turned to leave. When Cleopatra left Shianna walked up to Ulysses and Xena, "you can follow me," she said and they nodded and began following her. She led them down the hall and they were quiet as they followed her until she came to a stop.

She pulled out a key and unlocked the door then opened it; she walked in and they followed her looking around the spacious room. They looked around at the beautiful furniture as well as the beautiful craftsmanship of the walls. "The key," Shianna said as she walked up to Xena handing her the key, "thanks," Xena said and Shianna bowed her head. "Dinner will start in two hours," she said and Xena nodded and watched as Shianna walked out of the room closing the door behind her. "Hey Xe come see this," Ulysses called from another room and Xena walked into the room to see it was the bedroom that held a huge bedroom with a huge bed with many pillows. There was a huge fireplace and in front of it was a rug made from a tigers pelt, there was also much furniture in the room and another door that held double doors.

"Where are you?" Xena asked not seeing Ulysses in the room, he stuck his head in the room and she looked at him. "You have to come and see this," he said and Xena walked over to where he was. She walked through the double doors that were already open onto a very large patio; she walked further onto the patio until she was by the railing. Her eyes looked over the spectacular view, "wow," she said and he nodded. "Egypt," he said and they could see all the land for miles and the Nile flow. "It's beautiful," she said and he nodded as he agreed with her and with the sun getting ready to set the sight was even more impressive. They looked at it for a while then Xena grabbed Ulysses' arm and he looked at her, "what?" He asked and she grinned as she walked into his arms then leaned forward and kissed him passionately.

He moaned as he wrapped his arms around her, "Ummm," she moaned as she wrapped her arms around him moving closer as the kiss deepened. "Mmm," he moaned as the kiss was brought down to a passionate tasting of lips. His fingers tangled in her hair as he held her and his other hand ran over her back moving down until he was holding her lower back. The kiss ended and they looked into each others eyes. When the kiss ended she ran her hand over his cheek, and he grinned as she took his hand and lead him back into the bedroom. Ulysses closed the doors then walked over to Xena who was standing by the bed; she grinned as she pulled him to her and he smiled as he leaned down and kissed her. Meanwhile back in Cleopatra's quarters Shianna was reporting, "did all go well Shianna?" Cleopatra asked and Shianna bowed her head then looked at Cleopatra. "It did my Queen, I have put them in the room you requested," she said and Cleopatra stood and nodded.

"Do you think they will help us?" Shianna asked and Cleopatra let out a breath as she walked over to a window and looked out at her kingdom, her home. "I think they will, Xena will if only because she has an obligation to us," she said. "She is younger than I expected, are you sure she can help us?" Shianna asked and Cleopatra grinned at her. "When I looked into her eyes earlier, I saw that she had a lot of strength, don't let her age fool you or have you think that she is incapable of helping us. No one is made Athena's chosen, there has to be something very special about them to gain the attraction and such love, devotion and loyalty of a God, especially Athena."

Cleopatra said and as she said those words she thought about that, she wondered what was so special about Xena to make Athena choose her but not only that, what was it about her that Ulysses wanted. Even though he was just a Prince, he was a prince none the less and Cleopatra knew little of Xena's assorted past but she knew enough to know that Xena was a peasant, so what was it about her that made everyone want her so. "Make sure all the dinner preparations are being done correctly, I want everything to go off without a problem. Oh and Shianna I don't want to be disturbed until its time for the dinner," she said and Shianna bowed her head then turned and left Cleopatra's quarters. Cleopatra stood there and thought for a minute before she walked over to a wall. She pushed on two stones on the wall as the same time and the section of the wall next to it slid open. She walked through it then pressed a brick to close it.

Now that she was in the secret passage she walked the way to the room that had been given to Ulysses and Xena. She had not yet appointed a spy to listen to them so when she got there the chair that the spies used was empty. She sat down then slid the piece of wood that was covering the medium size slit in the wall up. She moved a bit closer so that she could see and hear. She saw Ulysses and Xena standing by the bed sharing a very passionate kiss. As they kissed Xena pulled Ulysses' shirt out of his pants then began undoing it. He pulled her closer as the kiss deepened and Xena moaned taking her attention from his shirt for a moment. She brought her hand up to Ulysses' cheek and it slid into his hair where she gripped it and pulled him closer. Ulysses moaned as he ran his hands over Xena's back then brought his hands up and started pulling down the straps to her dress.

When she felt him do that she went back to working on his shirt; when she got it open she pushed it off of his shoulders and pulled it down his arms. Ulysses shook the shirt to the floor and pulled Xena closer loving the feel of her hands on his skin. She moaned as she ran her hands over his muscled, chest, arms, shoulders and back. Ulysses brought the kiss down to a passionate tasting of lips and when he ended it he sucked on her bottom lip then top before he kissed her again. "Umm," Xena moaned as he kissed her again. When the kiss finally ended Ulysses started kissing and sucking on her neck as his hands pulled down the straps to her dress. Cleopatra watched from her hidden spot as Xena wrapped her arms around Ulysses and tilted her head back as she moaned in pleasure.

She watched Xena moaned and run her fingers through Ulysses' hair as he continued to kiss and suck on her neck. She then saw Xena smile as Ulysses whispered something in her ear, "this dress is really in the way," he whispered to her and Xena grinned. She pulled Ulysses up from her neck then kissed him, when the kiss ended she pushed him down on the bed. She walked up to him then placed her foot on his leg, he looked at her and grinned as he ran his hands over her leg then down to her sandal where he undid it then pulled the shoe off of her foot.

As he sat the shoe down on the floor he leaned forward and placed kisses on her leg. Xena grinned then let out a low moan as his hand caressed her thigh as he continued to kiss and suck on her leg making his way up. She ran her fingers through his hair and let him continue for a minute more before she pulled his head back. She grinned at him as she lowered her leg then placed her other on his other leg. He smiled as he went to work and Xena closed her eyes and wondered for a moment if Ulysses knew the effect his touch had on her. When she opened her eyes he lowered her leg down then grabbed her dress pulling her to him. When she was between his legs he looked up into her eyes and she ran her fingers through his hair as she looked into his eyes.

"I love you," he said and she smiled at him, "I love you too," she said and he grinned as his hands finally pushed the straps all the way down her arms and she pulled her arms out. They kept eye contact as the dress fell to her waist; he ran his hands over her arms then tore his eyes from hers and looked over her beautiful breasts. He ran his hands over her upper chest then down to her breasts where he softly caressed the globes and then her nipples. "So beautiful," he said and Xena looked at him as she reached her hands behind her and undid the belt that pulled her dress so that it showed off most of her curves. When the belt was undone the dress fell to the floor and Ulysses ran his eyes and hands over the rest of her body.

She stood in front of him wearing only her red thong underwear; he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her stomach making his way down to her panty line. He only stopped because she pulled his head up as she leaned down and kissed him passionately. When the kiss ended she got down on her knees in front of him and began undoing his boots, when she had them off she sat them to the side then looked up at him. She ran her hands over his stomach then chest leaning forward to place a kiss on his hard muscled chest. He had his fingers in her hair with his eyes closed as he luxuriated in her kisses. While she kissed him she undid his belt throwing it and his sword into a nearby chair. She continued to kiss his chest as she rubbed the bulge in his pants that was straining to be free. He moaned then pulled on Xena's hair so that she would look at him, he wanted to look into her eyes and see the love and desire she had for him.

She looked into his eyes as she began to undo his pants; when she had them undone she began pulling them down and he raised his hips so that she could get them off. His very large and erect cock was happy to be free and Xena looked at it as pulled his pants the rest of the way down. She looked at Ulysses as she ran her hands over his thighs and he looked at her as he pulled her hair back. Keeping eye contact she leaned her head forward and flicked her tongue over the head of his cock. He continued to look at her as he held her hair with one hand and used the other to hold his cock. He leaned it forward and she grinned as she caressed just the head with her tongue, she knew he wanted her to do more by the gentle pull in her hair. She continued to run her tongue all over then let her lips caress him. She did it again this time doing a light suck and he let out a breath.

She decided to stop teasing him and took his head into her mouth and sucked on it, he closed his eyes and moaned as she sucked on just his head. She used her hand to stroke the rest of his shaft while she sucked and when she was done she looked at him. He pleaded with his eyes for her to take the whole thing she grinned and kept eye contact as she leaned down and ran her tongue over his entire shaft. She placed a few kisses on it then finally took him completely into her mouth, "Ummm," he moaned as he tilted his head back and moaned. Xena sucked him deep and easy into her mouth driving him crazy and he was loving it.

He placed his hands on the bed and leaned back some as he let her have her fun which was his pleasure. His eyes were closed and a smile appeared on his face and he let out a laugh then a moan as she pulled one of her wonderful tricks with her mouth and teeth. "Ooh yes," Ulysses moaned and Cleopatra continued to watch them her breathing coming a little faster and though she knew she should leave and give them their privacy she couldn't tear her eyes away. Xena continued to suck Ulysses for five more minutes and by then his hands had left the bed and was in Xena's hair or caressing the back of her neck and shoulders. When she was done she rose up and ran her hands over his chest as she looked into his eyes then moaned as he kissed her passionately.

As they kissed Ulysses stood up and pulled Xena up as well. Xena moaned and ran her hands over Ulysses' back down to his tight butt where she pulled him closer. He moaned and ran his hands over her back and butt laying a smack to one cheek, Xena moaned and smiled into the kiss. While they continued to kiss he picked her up and Xena smiled as she grabbed his strong, muscled arms before wrapping her arm around his shoulder and the other ran through his hair as she continued to kiss him. Her legs wrapped around him and Ulysses caressed her back as he turned around then placed one knee on the bed before he just fell down. Xena ended the kiss with a smile as she and Ulysses moved up to the head of the bed, "you're so clumsy," she said with a smile and he smiled back.

"Am I?" He asked with a grin as he laid between her legs, "mm," Xena answered as they kissed passionately. As Cleopatra continued to watch them she leaned back in the chair and her own hands began to wander. She pulled her dress up and caressed her thigh while her other hand caressed her breasts. She watched as they shared passionate kisses and caresses with some loving comments in between. After a bit Ulysses started kissing and sucking on her neck before he began making his way down. Xena closed her eyes and moaned as Ulysses sucked on her nipple, raking his teeth across it. She grinned as he bit down on it lightly then pulled on it with his teeth, "you're so...so bad," she said and he grinned then continued to suck on her nipple. While he sucked on that one he pinched and pulled on the other and Xena continued to moan and her back arched off the bed.

When Ulysses was finished with that breast he kissed his way over to the other and applied the same attention to it. When he was done he began kissing his way down kissing and sucking all over her stomach until he got to her underwear. He looked up at Xena and smiled as he kissed and sucked on her thighs. "You're such a tease," she said and he chuckled at her then bit down on her thigh and sucked on it. "If I am, I learned it from you," he said and she was about to say something but her words got stuck in her throat when Ulysses leaned forward and lick the crease where her thigh and pelvis met. "You were about to say something?" He asked with a grin and that grin turned into a smile when Xena shook her head and pushed his head back down. He did that once more then continued kiss his way down.

He ran his hands over Xena's thighs as he kissed and sucked on her calves then made his way down to her feet paying special attention to them too. He smiled at Xena as he made his way back up then got up on his knees. She smiled at him as he grabbed the band of her underwear and began to pull them down. Xena raised her hips helping Ulysses out until he had them down to her thighs. He pulled them down her legs and over her feet dropping them to the floor; Xena placed her feet flat down on the bed and opened her legs wide for Ulysses.

He looked at how wet she was and his automatic reaction was to lower down between her legs so that his face was close to her center. He placed one hand on the outside of her thigh and the other he use to push her other thigh outward and watched as she opened liked a flower. _'Gods she's dripping wet' _he thought as he saw a drop of that wetness roll down her lips. _'Bet not let it go to waste' _he thought then leaned forward inhaled her glorious scent then ran his tongue through her lips. When he got that one taste he couldn't help but dive in for more. Xena closed her eyes tightly and moaned as Ulysses ate her out as only he could.

Cleopatra had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from moaning. She had pulled down her underwear and her fingers were tending to the fire between her legs watching Ulysses and Xena had created. She watched as Xena brought her hands up and gripped the pillows as she moaned and cried out while her back arched off the bed. "Unnnngh...Ulysses," she heard Xena cry out and Cleopatra let out a low moan as she watched Ulysses' open Xena's legs wider so that he had total and complete access to her. "Unngh...yes," Xena moaned then brought down one of her hands and it went straight into Ulysses' hair. "Unngh...don't stop," she moaned as she pulled him closer. He moaned as he tasted her sweetness that she was overflowing with. After a bit Xena's other hand went into Ulysses' hair pulling him and holding him where he was. He grabbed her hands and pinned them to the bed, "relax my love," he told her then kissed her thigh before he went back to his much loved previous activity.

"Ummm," Xena moaned as she turned her head to the side. Ulysses lip, teeth and tongue seemed to be every where and it was driving her insane. He was sucking on some of her most private places and nipping at the most sensitive while his tongue drove inflamed her more than she already was. Eventually his hands caressed the sides of her thighs then moved up to hold her waist holding her down. Cleopatra's fingers were wreaking havoc in her own body as she continued to watch them. When Ulysses was finally finished to the point he nearly drove Xena completely insane he kissed his way back up and looked down at her grinning face. She looked into his eyes as she ran her hand over his cheeks then rose up meeting him for a passionate kiss. As they kissed Ulysses settled himself between Xena's legs and as the kiss became deeper he pushed into her.

Xena moaned into the kiss as Ulysses stretched her. She pulled him closer deepening the kiss and as they continued to kiss he pushed in more. He continued to push until Xena let out a sharp moan as she ended the kiss, "am I hurting you?" He asked in a breathless voice and she looked at him wither her hand still in his hair. "Yes but don't stop," she said then kissed him passionately. He was so excited that he was real big and stretching Xena to the point she was feeling a little pain. Her other hand caressed his back as she moaned loudly into the kiss as he pulled out and pushed back in developing a rhythm. Time passed and Xena was used to Ulysses now, the silk sheet covered and clung to their sweaty bodies. They passionate tasting of lips and passionate kisses as they rolled around on bed.

As the time passed Xena rolled Ulysses onto his back then sat up and gave him one of the best rides of his life. She had her hands on his chest with her head tilted back as she bore her hips down hard adding a little twist to it. He had his eyes closed, head pushed back in the pillow and his hands gripped her waist as he held on. After a bit she ran her hands over his arms then pulled him up. She ran her hand over his cheek as she looked into his eyes both of the breathing hard; she leaned forward and kissed him softly making him moan. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder the other gripping his upper arm. When the kiss ended they looked into each others eyes and Xena started moving against him. She let out a breath then licked her lips as she felt the pleasure. Ulysses ran his hand over her hair as he looked into her eyes then kissed her and as they kissed she moved harder and faster. When the kiss ended she looked at Ulysses then placed her head in his neck as she moved harder and faster against him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder and neck as he moved.

"Oh baby," Xena moaned in his ear and Ulysses pulled her closer causing her to cry out in extreme pleasure. They stayed this way for about ten minutes then Ulysses stopped moving and pulled back to look at Xena. Sweat ran down his back and hers, her hair was a little damp and he caressed her cheek as he looked into her eyes then kissed her softly. She whimpered from the tenderness of the kiss and the love she felt through it. When the kiss ended he picked Xena up along with himself and they laid on their sides facing each other. He caressed her cheek as he leaned in and kissed her again. As they kissed Xena pulled the sheet up then ran her hand over his shoulder and back. Ulysses began to thrust into Xena as they kissed and they both moaned. After a while Ulysses started kissing and sucking on Xena's neck.

Cleopatra was about in the same state as Xena as she continued to watch them make passionate love. She watched as Ulysses kissed and sucked on Xena's neck while he continued to thrust into her. Xena tilted her head back and moaned; her hands ran over Ulysses' body, over his thighs, butt anywhere her hands could reach is where they went. One of her hands went into his head holding him to the current place where he was driving her insane, "Ummm...Unnngh," she moaned as he sucked on one of her erotic spots while thrusting into her. Cleopatra watched as Xena ran her hand over Ulysses' back caressing him then she ran her nails over his back as she came back down to his shoulder. Twenty minutes later Ulysses rolled Xena onto her back and kissed her passionately as he continued to make love to her.

"Ummm...baby go deeper," she moaned in his ear as she opened her legs wider. He kissed on her jaw as he rose up on his hands and went deeper. "Unnngh," she moaned loudly in his ear then pulled him to her for a kiss. Cleopatra leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she ran her hand down her neck while her fingers continued to pleasure her. Her moans mixed with those of Ulysses and Xena's and she was in her own world as she felt herself getting closer and closer. She had pushed first two fingers into herself then three moaning loudly as she stretched herself since she was a small woman. She squeezed her breast then pinched and pulled on her nipple as she continued to pleasure herself. "Aaaahhh...Unnnngh...yes," Xena cried out and Cleopatra opened her eyes and looked back through the slit.

Ulysses had Xena's leg in the crook of his arm as he thrust deeply into her. One of Xena's hand flew up in search of something and she grasped the sheet while the other grasped Ulysses' sweaty. "Umm...you feel so good," Ulysses moaned to Xena then closed his eyes as though he were in pain. "Unnn...so...so good," he moaned as he continued to thrust into her. Xena's nails dug into his back and she started moaning and making noises as if she were crying and would have been because the pleasure was just that good. Ulysses let Xena's leg down and turned her face towards him and kissed her passionately.

His hand went to her arm she had thrown up and he caressed her arm up to her hand were he held her down. The kiss came down to a passionate tasting of lips and they both moaned. Ulysses let Xena's hand go as he rose up and thrust deeper and harder into her. She ran her hand over his arm as they continued to kiss but it would have to stop soon since they were becoming low on air. Ten minutes later they had become low on air and Ulysses' lips rested against Xena's cheek as he continued to thrust into her. Cleopatra continued to watch them moving her fingers faster and faster until she let out a moan. Her hand other hand gripped the side of the chair as her release rushed through her body.

She kept her eyes open as she continued to move her fingers and watched them milking her orgasm for all it was. "Un...Un...Un...aaahhhh," Ulysses and Xena moaned together as they released at the same time. When all the tremors were gone they were both breathing hard and Ulysses looked at Xena and she looked at him. She ran her hand over his sweaty forehead removing some of the sweat; he leaned down and kissed her softly. Cleopatra leaned back against the chair as she caught her breath when she had she fixed her clothes then leaned forward and looked at them. She saw them kiss and Xena placed her hand on Ulysses' cheek and when the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes. "I love you," she said and Ulysses grinned at her. "I love you too," he said then placed a soft kiss on her lips before he laid down on the bed on his side.

Xena turned on her side and Ulysses scooted up next to her wrapping his arm around her and placing a kiss on her shoulder. They shared a small passionate kiss and when the kiss ended they just lay there and held each other. Cleopatra saw that there wasn't going to be any more action talking or otherwise so she replaced the piece of wood then stood and walked back to her room. When she got there she opened the passage then closed it back. She walked to her sitting area and sat down then laid down on the sofa and let out a breath _'I didn't think I would see that when I went to spy on them. I must say I enjoyed the show' _she thought to herself with a smile on her face.

Cleopatra didn't realize how fast time had passed while she had been watching Xena and Ulysses until her servants came to prepare her bath. She took her bath relaxing in it for a bit before she bathe herself, when she was done she got out of the tub and there was a servant waiting with a towel in hand. When Cleopatra was dried off her servants tended to her until she was ready for dinner. She wore a white sleeveless dress that fell all the way down to her ankles. There was a spilt on both sides coming all the way up to the beginning of her thigh. The dress covered up to the middle of her back and it was straight but it clung to all the right spots. She wore sandals then sat down and oiled her skin before it was time to go.

Cleopatra smiled as she walked into the dinning hall and one of her advisors stood and pulled out her chair for her which was at the head of the large square table. Cleopatra's other three head advisors were also sitting at the table, two men and one woman. "My Queen," they said as they also stood and bowed their heads; when Cleopatra sat in her large, comfortable chair the others sat as well in equally comfortable chairs. Dinner was still being prepared so they talked amongst themselves. A while later Xena and Ulysses walked into the hall and they said hello to everyone then sat down in the seats that were them.

"So Ulysses, tell me do you like your woman to be controlled?" She asked and he looked at her, "not really, if I can control a woman than she's can't be too exciting," he said and Cleopatra grinned at him. "Is that answer because your wife is sitting next to you?" She asked and he grinned as he looked at Xena who grinned at him as she raised her eye brow. "Ulysses is a man of his word, he doesn't say what I want to hear but what he feels is true," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded. "Can't argue with that," she said then picked up her glass and took a sip. "Well Xena, I am an honest woman and to be honest with you I asked you both here because for one I needed your help and for another I'm interested in you both, of course for reasons I'm not going to tell you but I felt you should know," she said and Xena grinned at her while Ulysses sat there and thought about that.

"Of course, who isn't interested in a peasant marrying a prince and also turning into Athena's Chosen. Who isn't interested in the prince who chose to marry a peasant?" Xena said and Cleopatra grinned to herself, she wanted to say more but knew that it wouldn't be proper at that time. Cleopatra leaned back in her chair crossing her legs so that one of her splits fell open to reveal the soft, silky flesh of a leg and a little thigh and at that exact moment Ulysses happened to glance over to see it and he cleared his throat as he turned his head and looked at Xena. "You alright?" She asked as she reached out and caressed his cheek and he nodded as he took a sip of wine, "yeah, something just got caught in my throat," he said and Xena nodded then happened to look at Cleopatra who was talking to her advisor and Xena looked over her body and saw what Ulysses saw but she turned her attention from it and started up a conversation with Ulysses.

Cleopatra watched as Ulysses put his arm around Xena's shoulders and his fingers caressed her arm. She found her mind drifting to when she watched them and that wasn't good, not while she was at the table with others around. "Xena, Ulysses let me introduce you to my three head advisors, I'm rude for having not done so before. You've already met Hotep," she said and Hotep stood and bowed his head. Xena and Ulysses looked at him, "yea we've met him," Ulysses said. "This is Dagun who is my Head war advisor," she said and Dagun stood and bowed his head. "It's nice to meet you, I've heard much of you both."

He said and they grinned at him and nodded and when Dagun sat down Cleopatra introduced her last head advisor. "This is Amonette, she's head advisor for shall we say, people relations. She helps me see to it that my people have all they need," she said and Amonette stood and bowed her head. "I believe you have someone in my position in your kingdom as well," she said to Ulysses and he nodded. "My people are first and foremost," he said then looked at Xena, "almost anyway," he said with a grin as he looked back at Amonette who grinned at him. "Yes, my father and I do see to their needs and occasionally their wants," he said then picked up his glass and took a small gulp. Dinner was soon brought out and they all ate and talked amongst themselves while Cleopatra's musicians played some gentle music.

The evening continued as planned with everyone mingling with each other, Cleopatra talking to both Ulysses and Xena but mainly Xena, she had an interest in the warrior that even she could not yet identify. Xena was talking to Amonette while Ulysses took a seat next to Cleopatra and talked to her, "are you going to tell me what this problem is?" He asked then took a gulp of wine which he thought was pretty good.

"You're in a rush to leave my company so soon?" She asked and he grinned at her, "no, I am enjoying your company and your hospitality but as I said when we were brought here, Xena and I are on our honeymoon." He said and she nodded, "with a gorgeous woman such as Xena I can see why you would prefer to make love to her than spend your time helping me." Cleopatra said with a grin and Ulysses grinned at her, "you have no idea," he said as he turned his head and looked at Xena. _'I think I do' _Cleopatra thought to herself as she looked at Ulysses look at Xena. "I can see that you two are very much in love," Cleopatra said and Ulysses looked at her and nodded. "She is my world," he said as he looked at Cleopatra then took a gulp of wine. "And does she feel the same way about you?"

She asked and Ulysses looked at her and nodded, "I have no doubt in my mind that she doesn't love me as much as I love her." He said and Cleopatra nodded, "you seem so sure," she said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "There is much about Xena many don't know," he said and she nodded, "I agree with you there," she mumbled under her breath but Ulysses heard her any way and he grinned as he looked down and after a minute he looked at Cleopatra. She turned and looked at him a smile appearing on her face, "what?" She asked and he grinned, "I'm just wondering what makes the Queen of Egypt tick," he said and she grinned at him and watched as he took another gulp.

"What makes any woman tick," she said and he grinned as he leaned back in his chair, "women are complicated I don't even try to figure them out." He said and she grinned, "but that's half the fun," she said as she picked up her glass and took a gulp. "True," he said, "I do love trying to figure what pleases a woman such as yourself." He said and she grinned then let out a breath, "if only you weren't happily married," she said and he laughed. Ulysses and Cleopatra talked for about ten more minutes then Xena walked over placing her hands on Ulysses' shoulders sliding them down to his chest as she placed a kiss on his neck. Ulysses grinned as he took Xena's hand, placed a kiss on it as he pulled her around and she sat down on his lap wrapping her arm around his shoulder.

He wrapped his arm around her waist as he drained what had to be his fourth glass and he was beginning to feel a little buzz, but signaled the servant to pour him another glass none the less. "So what's this problem that you need our help with?" Xena asked and Cleopatra grinned at her, "I guess I should tell you now that it's getting late." She said, "My brother Ptolemy is stirring an uprising. He has wanted my throne every since I can remember and has tried any means necessary of getting it.

He has gone so far as to try and have me killed but when his assassins failed he tried himself. He was caught, tried and banished to the far outskirts of Egypt." She said, "Why wasn't he killed? I know he's your brother but I know trying to kill you is the worse crime someone can commit. Death is the penalty," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded. "Yes and many people were pushing for his death especially when executions and assassinations were the Egyptian way for a long time and on an occasion still can be. However times have changed as has Egypt's ruler and also as you said, he is my brother.

However a sentence in the far outskirts of Egypt is a death sentence, there's nothing but sand out there for miles and miles. No water to be found anywhere and fierce outsiders that kill anyone who steps into their territory." She said, "but somehow your brother managed to survive," Ulysses said and Cleopatra nodded. "My spies informed me that he has gathered a very large band of these outsiders. They're not nearly large enough to come up against Egypt's forces but they can cause many problems." She said, "so what? You want us to stop them?" Ulysses asked and Cleopatra shook her head. "Not necessarily, I can take care of that but Ptolemy has another part of his plan that I don't yet know about." She said and Xena looked at her, "I see and you want us to find out what this plan is?"

Xena asked and Cleopatra nodded, "I've sent my best spies in but so far they've come back empty handed. I was told that you were good at these things," Cleopatra said and Xena looked at her then at Ulysses who was taking a gulp of drink. "What do you think?" She asked and he looked at her then at Cleopatra, "let us sleep on it," he said and she nodded. "Of course," she said then looked at them as they stood and headed over to the sofa. "Will they agree to help us?" Amonette asked and Cleopatra looked at her then back over to Xena and Ulysses, "I think so." She said then looked back at Amonette, "but things still must go as plan. Just in case they say no," she said and Amonette nodded.

"You know you taste so good," Ulysses mumbled against the flesh of Xena's neck and she grinned. "I think you've had too much to drink," she said with a smile. "Because I'm hungry for you I've had too much to drink?" He asked and Xena let out a breath as he sucked on a particular spot on her neck. "If that's the case then I'm drunk all the time. I crave you like I crave water, food, air," he said then turned her face towards him and kissed her deeply and passionately. When the kiss ended Xena placed her hand on Ulysses' cheek and looked into his eyes where she saw that he wasn't drunk. He might be a little tipsy, very little but he knew full well what he was doing. "What?" He asked and she shook her head as she leaned down, "nothing," she whispered then kissed him. She kissed him so passionately that he let out a low moan and when the kiss ended he was a little breathless. He brought his glass up to his lips but didn't get a chance to drink any since Xena took his glass and drained it.

"Hey," he said and she looked at him once she was finished, "what?" She asked and he grinned at her. She leaned in and kissed him softly but passionately and when the kiss ended she looked at him. "I'll be right back," she said then stood and walked over to Cleopatra. She leaned down and whispered to Cleopatra who smiled and nodded. Xena walked back over to Ulysses and he looked at her, "what did you tell her?" He asked as Xena took his hand and pulled him off of the sofa, "that we were leaving so that you and I could make wild, passionate love long into the night."

She said and he looked at her, "you didn't tell her that," he said and Xena grinned as she pulled him with her. "Did you?" He asked with a grin and Xena turned around and grinned at him, "would it surprise you if I did?" She asked and he grinned and shook his head, "no but it might excite me though," he said and she grinned as she leaned in and kissed him softly. "I told her," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he pulled Xena to him for a kiss. Cleopatra and Amonette watch Xena and Ulysses over by the door as they kissed and then Xena took Ulysses' hand and he happily followed her out of the hall to their room.

"I wonder what its like to be that in love," Amonette said and Cleopatra looked at her, "I wonder as well my friend." She said and then they went back to their conversation. Meanwhile as Ulysses and Xena walked back to their room Ulysses stopped Xena and pushed her up against a wall where he proceeded to kiss her passionately. Xena moaned as she ran her fingers through Ulysses' hair, "you do know that we're in a hall?" She asked and he grinned at her, "then I guess we ought to get to the bedroom." He said then took her hand and began leading her and they walked a few feet before she pushed him against the wall and kissed him passionately. "We should not be doing this," Ulysses said with a smile and Xena smiled back. "I know," she said then kissed him passionately again.

They finally made their way to their room having many stops in between. When they got to the door Xena leaned against it as they kissed and Ulysses ran his hand over her thigh. "Where's the key?" She asked in a slightly breathless voice and he grinned, "I don't know. I guess you'll have to search me for it," he said with a smile and she grinned at him as her hands started searching. As she searched she leaned forward sticking her tongue out to lick his lips before she kissed him and they both moaned. She ran her hands down to his butt grabbing both cheeks and pulling him closer, "its not there," he said with a grin and she smiled as she kissed him back. As they kissed she ran her hands over his chest and down to his crotch where she felt the bulge. "Its not there either," she said and he shook his head as he leaned in and sucked on her neck. "No but keep searching around that area," he said and she grinned as her hand continued to stroke the bulge in his pants while her other hand went into his pocket and searched for the key.

She dug deep down in his pockets reaching for the key, "Ummm," she moaned as he bit down on her neck then sucked. When she found the key she pulled him from her neck and kissed him deeply. When the kiss ended they were both breathless and Xena turned around to put the key in the lock and Ulysses wrapped his arms around Xena as he moved her hair to the side and started in on her neck again. Xena moaned as she turned the key until the lock unlocked. She removed the key then turned the handle and opened the door, they stumbled in the room closing and locking the door behind him. Once they were in the room nothing held them back as they started stripping off each others clothes. By the time they got to the bedroom they were naked and Ulysses had Xena thrown over his shoulder as he carried her into the room. He dropped her down on the bed and she looked at him with a grin on her face as he made his way up to her.

They smiled at each other just before they kissed passionately and that night they made wild, passionate love until an hour after midnight. When the sun rose they were still very much asleep with no movement as to wake up. Ulysses lay on his back the sheet thrown over his waist his legs spaced out; Xena lay in his arms as usual her head more in his neck than on his chest. Her leg was between his her hand on his chest and the sheet covering her breasts down to the middle of her thighs. Ulysses moaned and threw his arm over his eyes as the rising sun began to shine into their room and on the bed and on them. Xena moaned and pushed more into Ulysses so that the sun didn't bother her. They slept for fifteen more minutes until there was a knock at the door. Ulysses groaned as he tried to ignore it and from the slight headache he had. "It's too early," Xena moaned as she pushed into him and he let out a breath when he didn't hear the knocking. However that was just a pause and then he heard the knocking again, he let out a breath then eased himself from under Xena and sat up on the side of the bed.

He yawned and ran his hand over his face then through his hair before he stood and stretched. He looked around for his pants but couldn't find them so he went over to his bag and pulled out a pair of his pajama pants and a shirt. He put the pants on then headed for the door, "alright, alright," he said as he put his shirt on but didn't button it as usual. He looked around the room seeing their clothes scattered everywhere, he picked a few things up and sat them down on the sofa before he answered the door. "Good morning," Cleopatra said and Ulysses looked at her, "it would be if you weren't knocking so early." He said and she grinned at him, "late night?" She asked and he looked at her, "as a matter of fact," he said. "Can we come in?" She asked and he looked at her then at Amonette before he hunched his shoulders and walked away from the door.

They walked into the room Amonette closing the door and they looked at Ulysses who was picking up the remainder of his and Xena's clothes. "So what can I do for you?" Ulysses asked as he leaned against the table and she looked at him, "I brought you what information we have concerning Ptolemy." She said and Amonette walked over to Ulysses handing him the documents, "I don't recall agreeing to anything." He said and she looked at him, "well did you at least think about it?" She asked and he looked at her, "ah," he said as he ran his fingers through his hair. Then Xena walked into the room with the sheet wrapped around her body, "have you see my…" she started to say but he pointed to a pile of clothes on the sofa. "As I was about to say we were kind of busy last night," he said and Xena walked over to him taking the papers out of his hand.

"What are these?" She asked, "the information that they have on Ptolemy," Ulysses said and Xena looked over it then at Cleopatra. "We didn't agree to anything," she said and Cleopatra nodded. "I know but I was hoping you would help," she said and Xena looked down at the documents. "Look breakfast is in an hour so why don't you take a nice, hot relaxing bath. Think about it then tell me your decision over breakfast," she said and they looked at her. "Good? Yes? Alright," she said not giving them a chance to answer as she began ushering Amonette out of the room. "We'll see you in an hour," she said then walked out of the door closing it behind her. "That is a very persistent woman," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "Grab our clothes will you," she said as she walked into the bedroom holding the sheet with one hand and reading the documents with the other.

Ulysses let out a breath as he picked up their pile of clothes and walked into the bedroom where he dumped them on the bed. There was another knock at the door and Ulysses let out a breath as he headed to answer it. When he opened the door there were two servants who stood with their heads bowed, "we were sent to prepare your bath and see to anything else you might need," the older of the two girls said. Ulysses looked at them then allowed them in closing the door behind them. They walked into the bedroom Xena was sitting on the bed and she looked up as they walked in and headed for the bathing chamber.

She looked at Ulysses who looked at her, "servants to prepare our bath," he said and she nodded and continued reading. "I wonder who this Arsinoe is. The name sounds familiar," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he walked over to the window looking out at the beautiful city of Alexandria. "You know I was thinking we could take a look at some of the pyramids maybe do some camel racing," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. "Sounds good," she said as she continued to read and Ulysses looked at her, "I take it you want to help," he said and she looked at him. "I'll tell you when I'm finished reading," she said and he nodded and let out a breath as he leaned on the window seal looking out at the beautiful city and thinking of all the wonderful things he and Xena could be doing, all the fun they could be having.

"Your bath is ready," one of the servants said and Ulysses turned and looked at her then at Xena, "you coming?" He asked and she nodded, "I'll be there in a minute," she said and he looked at her then let out a breath. Things were not going like he wanted them to, "take your time," he said as he passed by her and headed into the bathing chamber. She nodded and continued reading about the things Ptolemy and his allies had been up to. Just from reading this information she could get an accurate picture of what was going on but she wondered if Cleopatra saw it. Of course if she and Ulysses decided to help it would mean they would have to go and find out the information that Cleopatra's spies couldn't get. And she also knew she had a duty to help Cleopatra, Egypt.

"Yes you do," Athena said as she appeared before Xena who looked at the goddess. "Are you making this an assignment?" Xena asked Athena who looked at her before she walked over to the window. "Yes and no," she said and Xena rolled her eyes, "what does that mean? You know what, can't this wait Athena? I'm on my honeymoon, I just got married two weeks ago," Xena said and Athena nodded as she turned and looked at Xena. "I know, that's why I told you yes and no. No, this can not wait Xena, I wish it could but it can't. I had planned on sending you here in a month but things have progressed a lot quicker than I had intended. I need you to take care of this," Athena said and Xena looked at her then let out a breath as she stood there and thought about that.

This was who she was, who she wanted to be. She had chosen this life to help those who could not help themselves. Given that this was not the opportune moment she couldn't turn down Athena even if she wanted to. "Alright," Xena said and Athena nodded, "be careful Xena, there are Romans here and where ever there are Romans there is bound to be trouble," Athena said and with that she was gone. Xena let out a breath and continued reading over the material Cleopatra had provided them and even though she had already made up her mind, when she was done reading she was convinced even more so to help Cleopatra, now the tricky part would be to get Ulysses to agree.

She sat the documents down on the table then unwrapped the sheet from around her body throwing it to the bed. She put on the red silk robe that had been laid out for her then walked into the bathing chamber stopping when she saw Ulysses. He was in the large square shape tub leaning on the side with his arms crossed and his head resting against his arms as one of the servants who wore practically nothing massaged his shoulders, neck and back. She walked over to him stooping down in front of him, "having fun?" She asked, "mmmm," he answered then raised his head resting his chin on his arms, "she's doing a pretty good job though I would rather you be massaging my shoulders." He said while looking into Xena's eyes where he saw that familiar look of possessiveness in her eyes.

"You could've waited," she said and he nodded, "I could've but I didn't know how long you would be. You were really into your reading," he said making a point and she looked at him. "Ulysses I was just looking over what Cleopatra gave me so that I could tell what kind of situation she's in." She said and he nodded as he looked into her eyes, "I can see that you've decided we should help her," he said and Xena looked at him. "Yea, also Athena has made it a priority," she said and he looked into her eyes then let out a breath to keep from getting frustrated or upset, "harder," he told the girl then leaned his head back down. Xena stood and looked at him, "so are we going to help?"

She asked and he looked at her, "why not? You've already decided that we should, I mean what ever was on that parchment convinced you that we should help her, not to mention Athena has said that you have to help so it's not like you have a choice." He said and then all was quiet for a minute, "damn it Xena we're on our honeymoon, couldn't this have waited?" He asked and Xena let out a breath, "I asked Athena that and she said no, she said that things are moving more quickly that she anticipated. She had planned on this waiting until we got back but as it is…" she said and he just leaned his head back on his arms as the girl continued massaging his back.

Xena looked at Ulysses and she could see that he was becoming upset. "Ulysses," she said in a soft tone and he let out a breath, "forget it. We'll help her it's what we do, it's what you do," he said in a defeated tone and Xena looked at him. "Ulysses you knew this is who I was when we got married, I told you when you proposed," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "I know that Xena and I don't have a problem with what you do, I told you that but for god's sake, this is our honeymoon, this is our time before we go back home and get back into everything. I did not expect what you do to interfere with our personal life and I don't accept it," he said and Xena was about to say something when he spoke again.

"And you shouldn't ask me to, that's like my work at home, there's work and then there is us. Those two things have to be separate, otherwise how can we have a marriage, tartarus how can we have a life?" Ulysses asked and Xena thought about what he was saying and realized that he was right. "You're right," she said, "and I understand how you're feeling and believe me when I say I feel the same way but I just have to do this, I have to," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, looked into her eyes and nodded. "Alright," he said and Xena let out a breath of silent relief. "Thanks," Ulysses told the girl and she looked at him, "you were doing great but I have a feeling that nothing will relax me right now." He said then walked over to the stairs of the tub taking the towel from the other girl and dried his body off some before he wrapped the towel around his waist and headed into the bedroom. Xena let out a breath and followed.

"Sweetheart please don't be mad," Xena said as she walked over to Ulysses and he looked at her, "I'm not mad just disappointed," he said then walked out onto the balcony looking at all the people starting their day. She walked out on the balcony on over to him, she stood next to him then placed her hand on his arm before she leaned forward and placed a kiss there. "Please, please don't be mad at me, I can't take that not right now," she told him and he let out a breath as he looked down for a minute. "I'm not mad at you Xena. I could never be mad at you for doing what you do," he said then looked at her. "Helping people is what you're good at, it's what you were meant to do."

He said as he caressed her cheek and looked into her eyes, "I seemed to be trapped with that same fate. I was just hoping that we could have some time for us. Have some fun, live a little other than what we do at home. I love our friends and family but I wanted to be alone with you. Spend some time alone with you, have fun, do whatever that came to mind," he said with a grin as he wrapped his arm around Xena and she placed her hand on his shoulder. "We can still do that Ulysses, we can make the most of this," she said as she brought her hand up to caress his cheek as she looked into his eyes. "We can have loads of fun, like the fun we had last night," she said with a grin and he grinned back. "Last night was fun," he said and she nodded and smiled, "and wild," she said and he smiled as he leaned in and kissed her. "Passionate," he said when the kiss ended and she smiled and nodded as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"Very," she said before they kissed again and as they kissed Xena ran her hands over Ulysses' lower back and stomach. "How about we take that bath, meet Cleopatra for breakfast then see what trouble we can get into." She said and he nodded, "sounds good," he said then leaned in and kissed her softly once more. When the kiss ended Xena grinned as she took Ulysses' hand and lead him back to the bathing chamber where the girls were still. Ulysses removed his towel and got back into the still slightly hot water. He looked up at Xena and she looked down at him with a grin on her face as she undid the belt to the robe then let it fall to the floor. Ulysses grinned as she stooped down then slid into the water in front of him, she smiled as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. They stared into each other's eyes and Xena ran her wet fingers over Ulysses' cheek, they leaned in as if they were about to kiss but Ulysses pulled back and grinned.

"Teaser," she said with a grin and he smiled as he leaned in and just as their lips were about to touch Xena grinned. "I can tease too," she said then pulled back. He smiled and nodded before he pushed her back against the tub and his hands caressed her body under water. He leaned forward until she could feel his breath on her lips. He even went so far as to let his lips caress hers, "stop teasing me," she said in a breathless voice and he grinned as he ran his hand over her cheek. "You like it," he said as he leaned in and she looked at him, "I do but by all the Gods I want you to kiss me so much." She said then moaned as he kissed her passionately, she was unprepared for the kiss so she took in some air through her nose. She ran her fingers into Ulysses' hair pulling him closer as they shared a very passionate kiss. They continued to kiss that way for a while breaking every now and then for air and to share short comments.

After a bit Ulysses pulled Xena with him to the middle of the tub where he dunked them both under the water. When they came back up Xena laughed as did Ulysses and then she splashed some water at him. He splashed back and before they knew it they were having a water fight splashing water all over the place. "Give up," Ulysses said after he pulled her into his arms and she smiled as she ran her hands over his arms, "never," she said and they both grinned as they leaned and kissed. The kiss was a passionate tasting of lips and then it became more than that; as they continued to kiss Xena moved closer to Ulysses. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up with one arm, "Ummm," Xena moaned as she was impaled on his big, hard shaft which pushed deep into her.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders pulling herself closer as they continued to kiss and when the kiss ended Xena licked her lips as she looked into his eyes. Ulysses looked into her eyes as he pulled out then thrust back in, "Unnngh," Xena moaned and Ulysses looked at her as he did it again. She held on tight to him as she felt the immense pleasure and Ulysses moaned as well loving the wonderful feeling of being inside of her. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her jaw, "you feel so good," he told her. "Ummm," Xena moaned as she held on tighter to him and then he kissed her passionately. Suffice to say when they were done they took their baths, got out, dried off then got ready for breakfast.

Ulysses wore his usual and Xena put on her black leather pants, black boots and blue sleeveless shirt. Since they were going to do some sneaking around they wore their weapons with the many hidden daggers. Xena grabbed the documents Cleopatra gave them and headed out the door with Ulysses closing and locking it behind them. When they got to the main hall it was just Cleopatra and Amonette sitting there eating and talking since breakfast had just been brought out less than five minutes ago. "Good morning," Xena said with a smile as she sat down and Cleopatra grinned at her, "it is but not as good as yours. I didn't have a wonderful man like Ulysses making, wild passionate love to me all last night and probably this morning."

She said with a grin as she looked at both Ulysses and Xena who grinned at her, "can't deny that," Xena said and Cleopatra chuckled as she sat forward. "I'm interested to know Xena how much you're willing to pay for such an extraordinary man and I think it's safe to say extraordinary lover." She said and Xena chuckled, "you know flattery won't butter me up for accepting the job if that's what you're trying to do." Ulysses said with a grin as he picked up his glass of juice. Cleopatra smiled at him then looked at Xena, "one night name your price," she said in half joking manner and the other half she was serious. "Well," Xena said as she looked at Ulysses, "his body alone is worth a fortune and his talents…" she said then looked at Ulysses who grinned. "There isn't enough money in the world to pay for all of his wonderful talents," Xena said as she looked at Cleopatra who grinned as she hunched her shoulders as she leaned back in the chair.

"Well it was worth a try," she said to Xena who smiled and nodded. "I'm sorry to disappoint but I am a one woman man," he said looking at Xena who grinned as she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. When the kiss ended they began eating breakfast, "so I looked over the information you brought me on Ptolemy," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded. "And?" She asked and Xena let out a breath, "well we have some questions," she said and Cleopatra nodded. "Okay," she said, "who is Arsinoe? The name sounds really familiar to me," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded.

"It should, she's our sister and at one time she flew to Athens to one of Artemis' temples." Cleopatra said and Xena nodded, "seeking protection from you," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded. "After what she and Ptolemy did to me," she said then shook her head, "I had to fight to regain what I have today," she said and Xena nodded. "Well she hasn't learned her lesson because she's helping Ptolemy along with this guy named Pothinus." Xena said and Cleopatra looked at her, "Pothinus is Ptolemy's second hand. When our father gave power to both Ptolemy and myself we were supposed to share it together but it was Pothinus who put the idea in Ptolemy's head to get rid of me.

Their plan was once that I was gone Ptolemy would have sole rule and Pothinus would act as power behind the throne. I had thought he was dead since when Ptolemy was captured he was no where to be found." Cleopatra said, "Well if he was the one to put ideas into Ptolemy's head about getting rid of you he's probably behind what's going on now." Ulysses said and Xena nodded in agreement, "you don't have much information here but from what I could figure out he's planning to come after you but how, when and where I don't know." Xena said and Cleopatra looked at her, "so will you help me?" She asked and Xena let out a breath and nodded, "yes but we're only going to get you the information you need and that's it. However should you lie to us or purposefully keep things from us we will no longer help you and you will be on your own."

Xena said and Cleopatra nodded, "so it brings us to the question is there anything you are keeping from us?" Ulysses asked and Cleopatra looked at him, "you know all of what I know. However I do know that there are Romans here, one powerful Roman to be exact, I believe his name is Pompey. I don't know why he's here, he's been here a couple of times, saying he was just coming to visit but I highly doubt that. My spies have been keeping a close eye on him but haven't found anything out as of yet but I think it has something to do with Ptolemy." She said and Xena nodded, "well you should know that Athena has a personal interest in this matter also, so I'm no longer just here for you." Xena said and Cleopatra nodded, "whatever way you are here I appreciate your help, both of you," she said and Xena and Ulysses both nodded.

"Alright," Xena said and they continued to eat breakfast, "excuse me I have a few things to see to," Cleopatra said as she stood and they stood until she left the table then the hall. "So Amonette do you happen to know any of Ptolemy's and Pothinus' old hang outs?" Ulysses asked and she looked at him. "There's one place just outside of Alexandria, the worst criminals and the most powerful people hand out there. We had a spy in there but he's seen no sign of Ptolemy or Pothinus." She said and Ulysses nodded, "what about Arsinoe? Where did she like to go?"

Ulysses asked and Amonette thought about it, "well, she didn't really go anywhere she'd rather have people come to her. When she did leave there were often a lot of guards with her but there were times when she preferred to go on her own with Ganymede." She said, "who's he?" Xena asked and Amonette looked at her, "Arsinoe's mentor," she said and Xena nodded. "Anyway she often went deep into the forest area close to the river that ran through there. The river dried up some time ago," Amonette said and they nodded and got whatever other helpful information they could get from Amonette before they left. "Where to first?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him, "I'm thinking the place where Arsinoe went. I think there's something there, something no one found," Xena said and Ulysses nodded.

They were able to get two horses so that they could travel to the forest part that Amonette was talking about. They left the horses some miles back so no one would know where they were headed. They went on foot walking into the forest and after they got so far the way was blocked by a wall of branches and veins. "No wonder why they don't think she's here, it's a jungle in here," Ulysses said as he pulled his sword. "Don't disturb too much," Xena said as she pulled her sword and Ulysses nodded as he started cutting veins and branches. It took them an hour and a half to reach the place where the river used to be.

They let out a breath now that they had a light sheen of sweat on them with leaves and pieces of dirt stuck to them. Xena unstopped the water skin taking a few deep gulps before she handed it to Ulysses who took a couple of gulps as well. "Well this is the place Amonette spoke of," Ulysses said and Xena nodded then went to take a look around. Ulysses let out a breath and began looking around as well; Xena walked over to a hill where she used her acute listening as she heard running water. "Hey," she called lowly and Ulysses looked at her then walked over to her as she waved him over. "Listen," she said and he listened but wasn't sure of what he was hearing so he stooped down and listened more closely.

"Is that water?" He asked and Xena nodded, "it must've been where it drained into the lake." Xena said then looked up the tall steep hill, "the water's coming from up there," she said and Ulysses looked up and let out a breath. "You have got to be kidding," he said as he looked at the tall hill covered in trees, veins and most of what they had just come through. "Our best bet is to go up that hill," Xena said as she looked at Ulysses and he looked at her then let out a breath. "So help me Athena we better find something," Ulysses said as he began walking up and Xena grinned as she followed him. "You know this is not what I pictured us doing when I pictured us sweaty," Ulysses said two hours later as they continued to chop and climb. "Well at least we're getting some exercise," Xena said and Ulysses let out a breath as he stopped and looked at Xena.

"I hope you know by the time we're finished and we get back to the palace I won't have energy for anything else," he said and she grinned at him. "I doubt that," she said as she placed her hand on his cheek then leaned in and kissed him before she continued up the hill. Ulysses let out a breath as he continued behind her, "you're lucky I love you," he said and she smiled at him as she slashed out at a vein. "So when we tell the story of our honeymoon, its going to have climbing a mountain and doing some gardening work in it," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him. "Or we could just embellish the story and said that we were helping the great Queen of Cleopatra keep hold of her throne," Xena said and Ulysses chuckled at her.

"I do love the way you look at things," he said then let out a breath as he continued slash out at the veins and branches and as he did so he watched Xena, he watched the way she moved, worked and held the sword in her hand with such skill and expertise. She had pulled her hair back into a pony tail and the hair that fell to her back was shinning from the sunlight along with green specks from the veins. He smiled to himself as well as shook his head at himself simply because he knew he was so in love with Xena, it was hard to believe himself and at times it was even harder to believe that he was married, that he was in a place in his life that he thought he would never get to, a place he once believed didn't exist for him only for others. Yet here he was, in love and married to what he thought was the perfect woman and no one or any circumstance could or would ever change that.

"Why are you staring at me?" Xena asked as she continued to move, so gracefully Ulysses thought. Xena stopped, turned and looked at Ulysses. "I'm not staring at you, you're in front of me where else am I supposed to look?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, really trying to seem innocent even though he had been staring at her. Xena looked at him with knowing eyes and raised her own eyebrow and they looked at each other starting a staring contest which of course Xena won and Ulysses grinned and shook his head as he looked down. "Now, are you going to tell me why you were staring at me?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her and continued to do so as he closed the gap between them.

He wrapped his arm around her waist as he continued to look into her eyes, he brought his hand up and ran his fingers through her hair then placed his hand on her cheek. "I was staring at you because I was thinking to myself what a lucky man I am and much I am totally in love with you. I have never love another like I love you and I never will," Ulysses said then leaned in and kissed her softly but passionately. "Mmmm," Xena moaned as she wrapped her arm around Ulysses' shoulder and they stood there for a minute or two, passionately tasting each other's lips. When the kiss ended they looked into each others eyes and Xena was at a loss for words so she did the next best thing and kissed him softly once more and when the kiss ended they continued to look into each other's eyes as Xena caressed Ulysses' cheek with her thumb.

"At the moment I can't find the words to tell you how I feel but later on when we're done with this I'm going to show you how I feel," Xena said with a grin and Ulysses smiled at that. "I look forward to it," he said and Xena chuckled. "Come on, lets get back to work, the sooner we're done, the sooner you can get to showing me how you feel," Ulysses said as he started slashing again and Xena chuckled at him as she continued as well. They continued working until an hour later when they reached nothing but rock. "Great," Xena said as she looked around then pressed her ear to the rock still hearing the flow of water but it was getting louder.

"What now?" Ulysses asked and she looked at him, "this way," she said and they began walking along the cliff which held enough rock for a walking path. They continued walking until they came to a ledge and when they looked down there was a nice place that seemed like a small paradise with a nice pond. "Down?" Ulysses asked and Xena let out a breath and nodded, "down," she said and he went first followed by her. They climbed their way down and when they were close enough they jumped down. They looked around to see where to go to next when Xena spotted two guards so she got down behind some bushes then pulled Ulysses down next to her.

"You could've just asked," he whispered and she held her finger up to her lips then pointed. He looked over the bushes at the two guards who were talking as they walked, "follow," Ulysses mouthed and Xena nodded and went behind him as they began to follow the guards. They followed them until they came to a series of caverns. They looked all around at the many entrances and decided it was still best to follow the guards. They walked up a slope to the caverns on the second layer since they had caverns up to a third layer.

They went into the middle cavern being very careful as they followed the guards and soon they began to hear voices. The closer they got the louder and clearer the voices became. "Look things are becoming too complicated," a female voice said. "Arsinoe you need to calm down. They think we're still in the outskirts, they have no clue that we're here," the male voice said. Finally Xena and Ulysses were close enough to put faces to the voices. "Ptolemy, Cleopatra is bringing in outside help, she's means to stop us before we even begin," Arsinoe said. "She has a point Ptolemy; Cleopatra isn't by far a stupid woman.

However as long as we stay hidden and don't take any unnecessary chances we should be fine. No one would think to look here and if they did, they would think twice once they saw how they'd have to get up here. Only an idiot would risk it," said another man. Xena and Ulysses looked at each other thinking they were idiots. "What of the Romans Pothinus?" Ptolemy asked Pothinus looked at him, "the one called Pompey is supposedly on our side but we will soon see, the one known as Caesar could be a problem," Pothinus said as he stood and walked over to a table looking over a map. "With his help we should be able to overrun Cleopatra before she knows what's happening," he said then looked up as another man walked into the cavern from another opening. "Everything is almost ready," the man said to Arsinoe and she looked at him, "Ganymede tell me, what have your spies found out."

"Nothing but Cleopatra has recruited two more people. I don't yet know who they are but when I find out they will be taken care of." He said, "do these two people pose a threat?" Ptolemy asked and Ganymede looked at him, "I'm not sure. Originally they came to Egypt for a vacation but she asked for their help. My inside source tells me however that Cleopatra doesn't trust the Roman or the people she just asked for help, she's having them all watched though I don't think it'll do much good. She has her own plan stirring up against us and if we don't move soon she'll crush whatever plan we have." He said, "contact Achillas and see if they're ready. Cleopatra won't know what hit her when we attack," Pothinus said. "When exactly is that?" Ganymede asked and Pothinus looked at him, "I won't know until we meet with the roman tomorrow." He said and Ganymede nodded and left the way he came.

"Arsinoe, when do you meet with our person on the inside?" Ptolemy asked and she looked at him, "in four days," she said and he nodded. "Good, then everything's on schedule as planned," Ptolemy said and they all nodded. "Egypt will be ours." Arsinoe said with a grin on her face as she thought about what she was going to do once she was in power. Xena and Ulysses decided they would hear all they could so they decided to go exploring. Carefully they looked into the other caverns and some were living quarters which were currently empty so they went looking around. Xena found a messenger pigeon so she picked up a piece of parchment with the seal on it to see if it meant anything.

They moved on until they came to another living quarters with maps and scrolls all over the place. They looked over some things and while Xena read a few scrolls Ulysses grabbed some parchment and a piece of charred wood then made a sketch of the map he was looking at. "Xena come here," Ulysses said in a hushed voice and Xena walked over to the table and looked at the map, "is that what I think it is?" He asked and she looked at it, "Greece," she said then walked over to the pile of scrolls looking through them until she found the one she wanted. She read over it and when she saw that it was information that she really needed she put the scroll in the back of her pants. "Its time to go," she said and Ulysses nodded and folded the parchment placing it inside his shirt. They made their way to the third level of caverns and saw it was filled with weapons.

They looked over some of the different weapons they had both shaking their head and the weapons of destruction they had. They made their way down to the first level where the caverns were filled with Ptolemy's men, from the looks of it the caverns on the first level went as far back as the eye could see and even further and men filled them all. "We really should go now," Ulysses said knowing if they got caught they would be in serious trouble. They looked around in the area with the pond and saw that they indeed had an easier way of getting up here. "A bridge," Xena said but they wouldn't be able to use it since it was heavily guarded. "I'm sure we could take on those guards but then our element of surprise would be gone not to mention it's highly unlikely we would make it down that hill, to our horses and back to the palace before we were caught or killed."

He said and Xena looked at him and nodded, "not up for the challenge?" She asked with a grin and he grinned at her. "I sometimes wonder about you," he said and she grinned. "Let's go back the way we came," she said, he nodded and that's the way they went. The hard journey they made up they now had to make down, but it would be easier since they had created somewhat of a path. "We are going on a vacation after this," Ulysses said as they walked down the hill and Xena chuckled at him. It didn't take them as long on the way down as it took on the way up, when they got to their horses they gulped down water then got on and made their way back to into Alexandria and to the palace. When they got to the palace the horses were taken and they walked up to one of the guards, "we need to speak to Cleopatra," Xena said and the guard looked at them, "the Queen has been expecting you."

He said then turned and Ulysses looked at Xena, "she's been expecting us," he said in a soft voice as they followed the guard and Xena nodded, her mind beginning to turn as well. They passed the Dinning Hall then walked up a few stairs and down a hall stopping in the middle at the door. The guard knocked on the door and when it opened it was Shianna, "yes?" She asked, "Cleopatra wanted to see us," Ulysses said and she looked at them then opened the door allowing them to come in. When they walked in they stopped a bit off into the room then looked at Shianna who looked at them, "come this way," she said and they followed her while glancing around. They followed Shianna to the bathing chamber where they saw Cleopatra in her tub the water up to her chest and she was writing something on a parchment.

"Wait here," she told them and they watched as she walked over to Cleopatra stooping down to talk to her. Cleopatra nodded then rolled up the parchment and handed it to on of the guards waiting near by. She then turned around leaning against the tub, "were you successful?" She asked and Xena looked at her and at Shianna who laid down on her side behind Cleopatra, "yes and no," she said. "Well it looks like you've been busy," she said as she looked at the state they were in. "Your people didn't look close enough, we found some of the information you needed in one day and it was in a place your people didn't look in to too well." Ulysses said as he looked at Cleopatra unfazed at the fact that she was naked and in the tub. She moved in the water over to the other side so that she was closer to them, "what have you found?"

She asked and Xena let out a breath, "we found Ptolemy, Arsinoe, Pothinus and some guy named Ganymede," Xena said and Cleopatra looked at them with surprise shown on her face. "Ganymede is Arsinoe's mentor and I often wonder lover," she said and Xena nodded. "Well they are planning to take Egypt from you and no doubt kill you in the process and they have the means to do just that." Xena said and Cleopatra looked at them, "what kind of means?" She asked, "weapons, factions some where in the outskirts ready for orders, and at least 200 or so men where they are hiding."

Ulysses said, "and we believe they will also have the alliance of Pompey," Xena added and Cleopatra looked at them then turned and headed for the stairs of the tub Shianna, who was anticipating this, was waiting there with a robe. Ulysses looked down momentarily until Cleopatra passed by them headed into a small sitting room that she had, small compared to the larger one any way. They followed Cleopatra as she walked over to the table that held the maps and she unrolled one looking over it, "this is Alexandria," she said and they looked at the map. "These are the outskirts," she said pointing to the area around Alexandria but far enough away from it to be called the outskirts.

"My sources tell me the most trouble occurring with the outskirts is happening over here," she said pointing to the west. "So will they come from the west?" She asked as she looked up at them and Xena shook her head, "it's hard to say. They're getting a lot of help including inside help. Probably someone close to you and Arsinoe is meeting with this person in four days." Xena said, "also we basically figure that Pompey isn't here on good terms but intel suggests that he's also here for personal reasons." Xena said and Cleopatra looked at her, "what personal reasons could those be?" She asked and Xena looked at her then walked up to her, "have you been contacted by Caesar?" Xena asked and Cleopatra looked into her eyes, "dealing only with matter of the state I assure you," she said and Xena slightly nodded as she looked at Cleopatra, "I doubt that."

She said, "I know about the Triumvirate," Cleopatra said and Xena looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Julius Caesar, Pompey the Magnus and Marcus Crassus, three very powerful men who are distinguished military and political leaders. The three of them dominate the Roman republic through a political alliance called the First Triumvirate." Cleopatra said, "you're not the only one with good sources of information," she said and Xena nodded. "I don't doubt that but did the information you received inform you that the Triumvirate is basically a power struggle among the three of them, one can only rule Rome.

At the moment Caesar and Pompey are allied together against Crassus, who is slowly but surely losing the battle. After his death, Pompey and Caesar will become rivals, disputing the leadership of the entire Roman state which will become a civil war." Xena informed Cleopatra and indeed she had not known that, her face showing some surprise but not much, "Pompey isn't by far a dumb man, he knows what is about to occur and he is preparing for it," Ulysses said and Cleopatra looked at him. "His alliance with Arsinoe and Ptlomey," she said and Xena nodded. "If he helps them in their battle against you and they win, he will look for their assiantance in his battle with Caesar."

Xena said and Cleopatra took in this information, "don't you see Cleopatra, Caesar has more of an interest in you than just business, he has to get close to you to assure that Pompey doesn't gain control of what will help him take Rome, an army, money and power," Xena said. "If that's so, then why isn't Caesar here competeing with Pompey?" She asked, "perhaps he's planning a different way to earn your trust or maybe he'll just sit back and see how things turn out. We don't really know," Ulysses said. "You've found out quite a bit and I thank you," Cleopatra said as she stood and walked over to them. "We'll have more for you by the end of the week," Ulysses said and she nodded. "I appreciate that," she said, "if you don't mind we'd like to go back to our room. We're in desperate need of a hot, relaxing bath and a soft bed.

Getting to where they are hiding was not by any means a small task," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded. "Of course and I'm sure you'd rather have dinner in your room," Cleopatra said and they nodded. "It will be done and if there is anything else you need let me know," she said and they nodded then turned and left her room. They went back to their room and just as they had walked through the door there was a knock and Xena answered it. She looked at the servants letting them in and they went straight to the bathing chamber to prepare their bath. Xena closed the door then walked into the bedroom looking at Ulysses who was laying down on the sofa. She walked over to the sofa and Ulysses with his eyes closed raised his legs allowing Xena to sit down and when she did he placed his legs on her lap.

"You know, I get the feeling that we stepped into a messy situation," Xena said and Ulysses grunted as he nodded. "Well, we're only providing her with information, I'm not about to engage in a battle on foreign soil," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she rubbed Ulysses' leg while she ran her fingers through her hair as she thought to herself. Ulysses pried one of his eyes open and looked at Xena who was quiet, "we are only providing Cleopatra with information?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him, "as far as I know," Xena said and Ulysses nodded then closed his eye and went back to relaxing. "You know, when I thought about my honeymoon, this isn't at all what I pictured," Xena said and Ulysses.

"Really? And here I thought you were having a fantastic time," he said and Xena hit him on his muscled stomach and Ulysses chuckled at her. "Ulysses I'm serious, I know who we are makes our lives a bit hectic but I wanted this part of our lives to be normal. I mean our wedding was normal and great and I wanted our honeymoon to be the same," Xena said and Ulysses sat forward and looked at Xena. "A goddess married us, our wedding was far from normal," Ulysses said and Xena softly hit his arm. "You know what I mean," she said and he nodded, "yea I do," he said as he placed a lock of hair behind her ear. "But Xena, you are by far a normal woman, you are at the least to say, interesting and most of the time your life, our life will sometimes be interesting, complicated, exciting and far from normal."

Ulysses said as he looked into Xena's eyes and she looked back at him, "and unfortunately you married a man who at times is not normal and whose life tends to be the same as yours," Ulysses said with a grin and Xena grinned back as she toyed with Ulysses' fingers, turning the thick gold band on his finger that she had designed for him. "I just…" Xena said then let out a breath as she thought about things, "I just wanted this part of our lives to be great," she said as she looked up at Ulysses and he nodded. "And it will be, as you pointed out to me earlier, we will not let this ruin our honeymoon, we will still have a great time," he said and Xena smiled at him.

"You actually listen to me," she said and he smiled at her, "I always listen to you," he said. "Even when I nag you about things?" She asked with a grin and he grinned back at her, "especially then but you never nag me about anything or if you do I've never noticed," Ulysses said and Xena chuckled at him as she caressed his cheek. "Your laughter is music to my ears," he said as he looked into her eyes, "hmmm," Xena hummed with a grin as she began to lean in for a kiss. "And I could live on your smile," he said and Xena's grin turned into a smile just before her lips and Ulysses' met for a kiss. The kiss started of slow and passionate and slowly began to progress to a very passionate tasting of lips.

"Mmmm," Xena moaned as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and Ulysses' placed his hand on her back as they continued to kiss. "Mmph…mmmm," Ulysses moaned as he fell back onto the sofa and Xena moved so that she was lying on top of him and the kiss deepened. They continued to kiss until one of the servants cleared their throat, the kiss ended and Xena looked up at the girl. "Your bath is ready," she said and Xena licked her lips and nodded as she felt Ulysses run his hand up her shirt and over her back, caressing her flesh with his hands and they felt so good. "Thanks that's all we'll be needing," she said and the girl turned to call the other servant and they both bowed then headed for the door and left the room.

Xena looked down at Ulysses and he looked up at her, "where were we?" She asked with a grin then leaned down and resumed their passionate kissing. As they kissed she began to unbutton Ulysses' shirt and when she had that done she pulled it out of his pants and opened it so that his chest was bare. She caressed his chest with her hands for a bit while they still continued to kiss and when the kiss ended she began kissing and sucking on his neck, slowly making her way to his chest. Ulysses' heart rate picked up and he looked up at the ceiling before he closed his eyes and moaned as she licked his nipple.

She licked, sucked and bit on his nipple for a bit then went to the other and applied the same attention to it. When she was done she continued to head south, kissing and sucking all over, her hands caressing the parts of his chest and abdomen she couldn't reach with her mouth. When she got to his navel, his stomach was rising and falling with his quicken breathing and Xena grinned as she looked up at him. Just when he thought she was going to go further than that, she stopped and he looked at her and she looked at him as she stood up. "Why don't I go get in the tub and while you go make sure the door is locked," Xena suggested.

"That way we'll be able to finish this conversation without any interruptions," she said with a grin as she began to undo her own shirt to the point Ulysses was able to see her navel. "Sounds good to me," he said and Xena grinned and nodded then headed to the bathing chamber. Ulysses watched her leave then laid there for a minute to calm himself and gain some control of him body. "You are so whipped," he said to his lower half, speaking to the evident bulge in his pants. After a minute he got up and headed into the living area where he made sure the door was locked and the room was secure, he did the same in the bed chamber as well.

He kicked off his boots in the room and threw his shirt into a near by chair and began working on his pants as he walked into the bath chamber. By the request of Cleopatra, the servants had prepared a milk bath with rose petals, so when Ulysses walked in he didn't see Xena in the tub but that was because she was under the water. He figured she was in the changing area and began to take of his pants when he heard she swosh of water. He looked up in time to see Xena emerge like a goddess from the water. She tilted her head back and ran her hands over her hair pushing her hair and some of the water back so that it wasn't falling into her eyes.

Ulysses looked on as rivulets of water ran from every place imaginable on Xena's body and at that particular time he wish he was that water, he wanted to run his hands, lips and tongue over her body just as the water was doing at that precise moment. "That felt great," Xena said then felt eyes on her so she opened her eyes and looked at Ulysses who was standing there naked staring at her. She smiled at him and he was mesmerized even more, his heart was pounding so hard it felt as if it were trying to pound its way out. "You are….so beautiful," he said and Xena smiled at him. "Are you going to stand there and stare all night or are you going to join me?" Xena asked and he didn't need more of an invitation than that. He slid into the water and moved over to Xena who grinned as she grabbed the sponge and soap.

"Will you wash my back for me?" She asked as she held the soap up to Ulysses and he took it from her then watched as she turned around and her back was now facing him. He poured some of the liquid soap onto the sponge, squeezed it a couple of times until it lathered up and he began washing her back. Xena leaned her head forward and moved her hair out of the way so that Ulysses could get to the base of her neck. When he had washed her entire back he rinsed her off, "all done," he said. Xena smiled as she turned around and looked at Ulysses, "thanks, now I'll wash your back," she said, motioning with her hand for him to turn around and Ulysses grinned as he did so.

As she washed his back she noticed all of the dirt and pieces of leaves in his hair. "You have more dirt and leaves in your hair than I had in mine," she said. "Well, gardening is a dirty job," he said with a smile and Xena chuckled as she pushed his shoulder. "Dunk, so I can wash your hair," she said and with no questions asked he did just that and when he came back up he ran his hands over his hair pushing the water back from his eyes. Xena poured some soap into his hair and began washing it, she used her finger nails to get down to his scalp then used the tips of her fingers to gently massage his scalp. Ulysses closed his eyes and relaxed into the wonderful feeling and he wondered how it was that when he washed his own hair it never felt this good.

"Why is it that your hands are good at everything they do?" He asked and Xena smiled at him, "special hands I guess," she said. "Special hands indeed," he said and she continued to smile as she washed his hair. "Rinse," she said after she was done and he was disappointed that the pleasure had ended but little did he know that a greater pleasure was waiting for him. When he came back up, he did the same action as earlier then opened his eyes and looked at the beauty in front of him. "Feels good doesn't it, a clean head?" She asked and Ulysses grinned at her, "yea it does," he said and Xena continued to grin at him. "Now I'll wash your hair," he said and Xena smiled as she raised an eyebrow at him but turned none the less to let him wash her hair.

"Mmmm…it seems like I'm not the only one with special hands," she said and Ulysses grinned as he massaged her scalp. "I am to please," he said then placed a kiss on her shoulder before he continued washing her hair. When he was done she rinsed the soap out. They both began to bathe themselves, talking about minor things in between to help the time pass and the lounged about in the hot, milk bath. Ulysses was finished washing before Xena and he just leaned against the tub and relaxed as he watched Xena and he was just so entranced by the way she moved and everything she did. When Xena was finished she looked at Ulysses who looked back at him and the love that shined back at her through his eyes was enough to make her want to cry.

She moved over to him and handed him the sponge, "here, wash my feet for me," she said as she leaned back against the tub and raised her foot out of the water. Ulysses grinned as he moved so that he was holding her foot and he began washing it. "Your feet don't look dirty to me," he said as he washed and Xena grinned and moaned as she tilted her head back and relaxed as Ulysses sort of massaged her feet. "They just needed your special hands on them," she said and Ulysses grinned as he continued his current task, working on one foot for five minutes then moved to the other. "I am your willing servant," he said and Xena chuckled at him, "mmmm…is that so?" She asked as she opened her eyes and looked at Ulysses.

"It is so my Queen," he said and Xena smiled at him then crooked her finger at him, beckoning him over, "come here," she said and he moved over to her as if he were under a spell. "And what services can you perform?" She asked him as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he placed his hands on her waist. "Any and all," he said as he leaned in so close that their lips brushed against one another, "I can be a great body servant," he said and Xena grinned at that. "I bet you could," she said then moaned as he kissed her passionately.

"Let's take this conversation somewhere a bit more comfortable," Xena said when the kiss ended and Ulysses nodded. She got out of the tub followed by Ulysses, then they dried themselves off. "I think I could use a good body massage," she said as she wrapped the towel around her body and looked at Ulysses as she used another towel to dry her hair. "Grab some oil and I'll see you in the bedroom," she said then left the bath chamber. Ulysses watched her go then continued to dry himself off as well as his hair. He grabbed a fresh towel and wrapped it around his waist before he walked over to a table that held different soaps and oils.

He grabbed a vile of oil with a smell of roses, one of the many smells he loved on Xena. Once he had the vile he walked into the bedroom and found Xena sitting at the dresser brushing her hair which was mostly dry and with her brushing it would all become dry. Just when Ulysses walked into the room there was a knock at the door, "better now than later," Xena said and Ulysses sat the oil down and went to answer the door. It was their dinner being delivered and Ulysses took it from the servants, balancing the tray on one hand as he closed the door and locked it.

"Our dinner," he said as he walked into the room with the tray, "sit it on the table we'll eat it later," Xena said and that's just what Ulysses did. Ulysses looked at Xena who stood and approached the bed, she took off her robe and threw it on the bottom of the bed. She laid down on the bed on her stomach and Ulysses just stood there looking at her. "Start massaging," Xena said and Ulysses snapped out of his trance, grabbed the oil and walked over to the bed. "Wait," Xena said and she turned her head to the side and looked at Ulysses, she reached her hand out and pulled the towel free, so that Ulysses was standing there naked, "that's better," she said with a grin then laid her head down.

Ulysses swallowed hard, sure that his body would betray him and his intentions to give his wife a massage without really wanting anything in return even though he did. He let out a calming breath then poured some of the oil into the palm of his hand, placed the vile on the table, rubbed his hands together to warm the oil before he placed his hands on Xena's shoulders and began the massage. He started at her shoulders and began to work his way down, Xena held on tight to the pillow she was laying on and moaned as Ulysses worked on muscles she used today and those that needed relaxing.

When he got to her lower back he wasn't sure if he should continue down her butt or just skip it and head to her legs. "Keep going," she said and so he poured more oil into his hand and began massaging her butt and Xena moaned as she pushed into the bed and Ulysses swallowed hard as he felt himself rising to erection. It had been hard before while he was giving her a massage but now that he was touching her butt it was becoming even harder. "Mmmm…that feels sooo good," she said with a grin on her face and she happened to open her eyes and see what her getting a massage was doing to Ulysses. Her grin turned into a smile and she let Ulysses continue on with the massage until he was finished and by then he wasn't the only one who showed proof of how the massage had affected them.

When he was finished or when he thought he was finished, Xena rolled onto her back and looked at Ulysses. "Do the front now," she said and he looked at her and he realized he wouldn't be able to do that and Xena grinned when she saw the look in his eyes so she decided to take pity on him. "Come here," she said as she smiled at him while she held up her open arms. Ulysses let out a breath as he grinned and walked over to the bed, "why do you torture me so?" He asked as he laid down between her legs and she looked down as she felt his extreme hardness, "torture?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, "I don't think so," she said with a grin and Ulysses grinned at her before he kissed her softly.

From that point on, they slowly began to make love, exploring each other's bodies to the fullest. An hour later the two bodies on the bed were covered completely by the covers on the bed. "Unn…un…oh yeah," Ulysses moaned under the sheet as Xena continued to move against him. "Aaa…aahhhh…eeeaaaa," Xena let out a high pitched cry as she climaxed and Ulysses continued to moan and groan as he did as well. Xena threw the covers back with the help of Ulysses and she tilted her head back with a smile on her face and she breathe in air. Ulysses laid beneath her pulling in air as well, their bodies covered in sweat but they were both sated from the wondrous love making they just experienced.

"You were amazing," Ulysses said to Xena as he ran his hands over her sides and she grinned as she removed some hair from her face that was glued by sweat. "Mmmm…so were you," she said then leaned down and placed a kiss on his neck making her way over to his ear. "I loved the way you paid attention to my body," she whispered in his ear just before she sucked on his earlobe and Ulysses grinned as he rose his head and met Xena for a soft, gentle, sweet kiss. A kiss between lovers, that portrayed their love, their need for each other rather than their desire and passion. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes and Xena laughed as Ulysses rolled her onto her back and he lay half on the bed and half between her legs.

"I love you so much," Ulysses said softly as he looked into Xena's eyes while caressing her thigh and she smiled as she looked into his eyes while caressing his arm. "And I love you…so much," she said as she caressed his cheek and Ulysses looked into her eyes a while longer before he turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand. Her hand turned and he also wound up placing a kiss on her fingers just above her rings, "and I know how much you love me by this rock on my finger," she said with a grin and Ulysses chuckled as he laid down next to Xena who turned on her side so that she was looking at Ulysses. "That ring doesn't begin to put a dent in the love I have for you," he said and Xena grinned at him.

"You could have placed a piece of string around my finger and I would have still said yes," she said and they moved closer so that they were but a breath a part. "Saying the words 'I do' was the proudest, most happiest moment of my life," Xena said and Ulysses grinned. "You know, I was nervous that day, I wanted everything to be perfect not for me but for you. Xena, you are the very air that I breathe, I honestly don't know how I survived all these years without you, without loving you, without your love," he said and Xena grinned to herself as she looked down for a moment and as she looked down a lone tear rolled down her eye, it wasn't a tear of sadness but one of extreme happiness and content.

Ulysses removed the tear with his thumb and Xena rose her eyes and looked at Ulysses. "These moments are becoming often," Xena said. "What moments?" He asked, "the ones where you say such beautiful things that I am left speechless, unable to reply and tell you how I feel, unable to express to you those great, unfathomable feelings that your create in me." She said and Ulysses smiled at her and Xena looked at him as she placed her hand on his cheek, "the way you look at me and when you smile, I know my world is alright…it's alright," she said and Ulysses looked at her unable to say anything. "Now I'm the one who's speechless," he said with a grin and Xena chuckled at him.

"Although you know," he said as he picked Xena's hand up and kissed the inside of her wrist, "the way you expressed your love for me earlier," he placed another kiss on her forearm, slowly making his way up as he talked and Xena grinned at him. "Is always a great way, anytime anywhere," he said and Xena chuckled, Ulysses' current kiss on her shoulder. "I am yours my love," he said then leaned in and kissed her softly. "When you want me you can have me," he whispered and Xena grinned as she brushed her lips against his while she ran her fingers through his hair. "Mmmm…I like the sound of that," she said and they both chuckled.

"I might take you up on that offer in Cleopatra's throne room," Xena said and Ulysses pulled back and looked at Xena. "I knew you had a wild side but…" Ulysses said and Xena laughed at him. "The throne room Xena?" He asked and she looked at him with a look of lust and desire in her eyes that he would soon come to love. "What? You not up to the challenge?" Xena asked in a sultry tone as she ran her finger down Ulysses' chest and he grinned at her, "oh I'm always up for the challenge but what about you?" He asked knowing that this was breeching into the subject of the part of himself that he kept from Xena, that he had kept hidden for a while.

"I aim to please," she said then sat up some and looked down at Ulysses. "I know there's a part of yourself you keep hidden from me and I also know you think you're protecting me from it by not letting me see that side of you, by not letting me experience it. But Ulysses, I am your wife, your partner and friend and I want you to share that part of yourself with me. I can handle it Ulysses, believe that, all the sexual desires that you have, that you crave, I am here and willing," Xena said and Ulysses looked at her and nodded. "I know and for a long time I thought that I would have to hide that part of myself forever but I know you accept me for who I am and I know deep down you can handle this part of me."

He said and Xena grinned, "I'm glad that that's finally sunk in," she said and Ulysses smiled at her. "How about something to eat?" He asked as he sat up in the bed, "yeah, I have worked up an appetite," she said and Ulysses chuckled as he shook his head at her while getting out of the bed. He walked naked over to the table, grabbed the tray and walked back over to the bed. He sat the tray down first before he got in and he and Xena began eating their dinner, having skipped lunch due to the expedition they were on. Gemini jumped on the bed and Ulysses threw her a piece of meat and Xena smiled at him because she could remember a time when he really didn't want to be bothered with the wolf. Time passed and they finished their dinner, laid around and talked for a while before they went to sleep.

**Continued in Part II**


	16. Chapter 15 Part II

**Part II**

When Xena woke up it was an hour after sunrise, she took in her surroundings then looked at Ulysses who was still asleep. She grinned as she touched his cheek, "mmmm," Ulysses moaned as he pulled her closer. "Good morning," Xena said and Ulysses opened his eyes and looked at her. "With you in my arms it always is," he said and she grinned as she leaned in and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended Ulysses hugged Xena inhaling her wonderful scent, "umm...I love you so much," he said and she grinned as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

Ulysses rolled onto his back bringing Xena with him and she laid on top of him her heart over his and they beat as one. "I was thinking we could do a few fun things today before we dealt with business," Xena said as she raised her head and looked at Ulysses who looked at her with a grin on his face. "What did you have in mind?" He asked as he touched her jaw with his finger and she grinned at him, "not that," she said knowing what he was thinking. "Not until much later any way," she said with a sultry grin and he grinned back at her. "So what do you have in mind?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned as rolled off of him then sat up on the side of the bed. "You'll just have to get up, get dressed and see." She said as she looked at him and he grinned as he watched her walk into the bathing chamber to freshen up.

He grinned to himself and lay there for a few more minutes before he got up and freshened up along with Xena. Today Xena chose to put on her short, black skirt with the wine colored sleeveless shirt. She brushed her hair and pulled it back into a pony tail then sat down on the sofa and put on her boots. Ulysses wore his regular which he always looked absolutely good in Xena thought. "You ready?" She asked and he looked at her his answer getting stuck in his throat when he saw how beautiful she looked. "Come on, let's see what kind of fun we can have before we have to go."

She said as she took his hand and he grinned as he followed her out of the room grabbing to apples on the way out. They took a carriage to the edge of the village then got out and walked the rest of the way looking around at all the vendors and the beautiful land. It was early in the morning and all ready the streets were bustling. For awhile they just took their time and looked around while they talked and enjoyed themselves. As they continued to walk Ulysses stopped by a clothes vendor and looked at some things, "what are you doing?" She asked with a grin and he held up a dress, "what do you think?" He asked and she grinned as she walked up to him, "not for you my love," she said and he grinned at her. "No, for you," he said and she looked more closely at it, "not bad," she said as she took it from his hands.

"Would you like to try it on?" The elderly man who ran the vendor asked and Xena looked at him then at the dress. "Why not," she said then walked over to the tent that he had closed off. As she changed and tried the dress on Ulysses looked through some other things finding things that he liked and others he didn't. When Xena was ready she came out and he looked at her, "so what do you think?" She asked Ulysses and he walked up to her as he looked over the dress. It was a white cloth dress that covered one shoulder and the other was bare and it fell down to her ankles.

It outlined her breasts and hugged her waist, "not bad," he said. Then circled her, "I like it," he said and she grinned at him. "Really?" She asked and he nodded, "it shows off all your important features," he said and Xena nodded. "Then I'll get it just for you," she said as she touched his cheek and he grinned at her. "Here try these on," he said and she took the clothes from him and one by one she tried them on and they had a good time. Smiling and laughing at the way some of the clothes fit and the comments that were made. They bought three dresses from the man and asked him to have them sent to the palace giving him a tip for doing so. "It will be done," he said as he looked at them with gratefulness on his features.

"I haven't a clue as to what to get for Virgil," Ulysses said as he looked at some weapons and Xena looked at him. "Well what sort of things does he like?" She asked and Ulysses hunched his shoulders, "Virgil is a complex guy." He said and Xena smiled as she walked up behind Ulysses wrapping her arms around him. "And you're not?" She asked and he grinned as he turned around and looked into her eyes. "Yea but I'm not hard to please," he said with a double meaning and Xena smiled as she caught it then closed her eyes and moaned as he kissed her softly.

When the kiss ended she looked at him, "something from the Library," Xena said and Ulysses' brow scrunched up. "You lost me," he said and she grinned. "Alexandria has one of the greatest libraries in the world or so I'm told, I've never actually been in it. Anyway, I know Virgil likes to read a lot of different and interesting things, so I thought maybe we could get him something from the library," she said and Ulysses nodded, "I see what you're saying but I doubt they'll give us the originals or make us a copy." He said and Xena nodded, "true but Cleopatra is going to owe us after this." She said with a grin and Ulysses grinned back, "you have such a brilliant mind," he said and she grinned and nodded as she met him half way for the kiss.

"Excuse me," a man said and Ulysses and Xena ended their kiss and looked at the man or young boy. "Can we help you?" Ulysses asked and he looked at them, "I was wondering if I could paint you?" He asked and they looked at him, this young skinny boy. "When you say paint you mean a picture of us?" Xena asked and he nodded, "what's your name?" She asked him and he looked at her then at Ulysses and back to her, "Cadell," he said as he began to wring his hands. "Well Cadell why do you want to paint our portrait? There are plenty of other people here," she said and he looked at her and swallowed hard. "I...well you're the only people who seem so in love. Its...it's a challenge for me to capture that love, that emotion on a canvas," he said and they looked at him. "Are you any good?"

Ulysses asked and he grinned, "Yes sir follow me," he said and Ulysses looked at Xena who grinned and they followed Cadell down a few vendors until they came to a tent. When they walked in they looked around at all the portraits he had there. Xena walked up to one and looked at it closely, "he is good," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he looked around. "So what do we get if we let you paint us?" Ulysses asked as he turned around to look at the boy, "if you are happy with my work you get to keep it of course for a small price."

He said and Ulysses grinned at him then looked at Xena, "it's up to you," he said and she looked around the room at his work then at him. "Can we choose our own pose?" She asked and he grinned and nodded, "of course my lady," he said and Xena nodded and looked at Ulysses. "I want to do it," she said and Ulysses nodded. "Alright Cadell, where do you want us?" Ulysses asked and the boy pointed to the middle of the floor where the sun shined down on them for his light. He went behind his stand sitting down and situating himself along with his paints and brushes. "Take your pose," he said and Ulysses looked at Xena who walked up to him. "What do you want me to do?" Ulysses asked and Xena grinned at him.

"Hold me," she said and he grinned, "I can do that," he said as he stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Tighter," she said and he pulled her tighter and she looked into his eyes as she brought her hands up to his upper arms where she held on. They looked into each other's eyes and Cadell nodded, "good, now can you guys lean in like you're about to kiss," he said and they leaned in until their lips almost touched. "Good now stay just like that," he said and he looked at them as he began outlining their features and starting his work. They stayed like that for an hour and a half looking into each others eyes conveying feelings they both already knew they had. "Okay you guys can relax," Cadell said and Ulysses leaned in the rest of the way and took Xena's lips in a kiss. "I've been dying to do that," he said with the kiss ended she grinned at him, "I've been dying for you to do it."

She said and he grinned as he picked her up and she smiled as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "I love you so much," he said and she grinned as she touched his jaw with her hand. "I love you too," she said and Cadell looked at them removing the papyrus he was working on and started to sketch them real quick while they held the pose and he would work on it later. When Ulysses and Xena were done basking in their love they looked at Cadell as he continued to work. "Is it finished?" Ulysses asked and Cadell shook his head, "when will it be finished?" He asked and Cadell answered him as he continued to work, "it'll be finished when I'm finished. You can't rush what I'm trying to do," he said and Ulysses looked at him then at Xena who chuckled as she looked at other paintings.

"Artists are so grumpy," Ulysses said, "and princes aren't?" Cadell asked and both Xena and Ulysses looked at him. "How did you know who I was?" Ulysses asked and Cadell let out a breath, "I get around, I hear things and the latest news is Cleopatra has invited the Prince and Princess of Ithaca to the palace. I saw you get out of the carriage coming from the palace and I guessed the rest," he said and Ulysses looked and him then at Xena who hunched her shoulders. They sat down for a bit on a sofa Cadell had in his tent, they talked for a bit before Ulysses stood. "I'll be right back," he said as he leaned down and kissed Xena then walked out of the tent. "Is he usually so active?" Cadell asked and Xena looked at him, "it depends on what he's doing I guess."

Xena said with a grin and Cadell nodded, "of course I hope for your sake he's this active in bed," Cadell said and Xena looked at him and he looked at her. "I'm just saying," he said and she grinned at him, "have no worries Cadell, Ulysses definitely doesn't have any problems in that area." Xena said and he nodded, "so you must make a lot of money," she said and Cadell shook his head. "You'd think so but I'm originally from Greece, in Thebes and I came here to learn more about the arts. They're a little touchy about who they let in to whatever important thing plus, I think my art is too real.

Shows too much," he said and Xena looked at one of his pictures, "I think it's great that your pictures show such detail. It's like you're actually catching the moment," Xena said as she looked at a picture of a woman working at the river. "Yea well I don't make a lot of money. I've been trying to get back to Greece but I can't afford it, I think I could make a little more money there if I could get back." He said and Xena looked at him, "well if returning to Greece is what you really want then when we leave you're welcome to come with us." She said and his hand knocked of the water he was using and she looked at him. "Are you serious?"

He asked and she looked at him, "yea. You're great at what you do Cadell and I'm sure once you're back in Greece you can find a place and make you some money, I can even introduce you to a few people." She said and he looked at her with happiness in his eyes. "If you were to do this I would be forever grateful and repay you back in whatever way I can." He said and she grinned, "Finish the picture," she said and he nodded and went back to work. Ten minutes later Ulysses quietly walked back into the tent with his hand behind his back. He walked up behind Xena who was looking at a picture; he placed a kiss on her neck and she jumped in surprise. She turned around and looked at Ulysses a grin coming to her features, "should I have left you and the painting alone?" He asked with a grin and she grinned at him.

"No," she said, "where have you been?" She asked him and he smiled as he brought his hand to the front and Xena's grinned turned into a smile as she saw the beautiful flowers he had for her. "I saw these and thought they were perfect for you," he said and she smiled as she took the flowers from him bringing them up to her nose and inhaling their scent. "Mmm...They're beautiful," she said then looked at Ulysses, "thank you," she said as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder leaning in and kissing him. Cadell looked at them and grinned as he finished their painting. "I'm finished," he said twenty minutes later and they stood and walked over to where he worked. They looked at the painting and he was indeed a brilliant artist, "Cadell this is…" Xena said as she looked at it at the detail and saw her love toward Ulysses and his love towards her.

"Magnificent," Ulysses said and Cadell grinned, "Thanks," he said and they continued to look at the painting. "How much do we owe you?" Ulysses asked as Xena picked the picture up and looked more closely at it. "Forty obols," he said and they looked at him, "that's all?" They both asked and Cadell nodded. "Cadell you should charge more your work is excellent," Ulysses said and Cadell nodded. "True but not many people here are willing to pay that for it," he said and Ulysses looked at him. "Well we're paying you double that," Xena said and that's what Ulysses' gave him. "Thank you so much," Cadell said and they nodded. He took the picture from Xena rolling it up since the paint he used dried quickly and he put a leather tie around it with his sign on it then handed it back to Xena.

"We'll see you later Cadell," Xena said and he smiled and nodded as he watched them go. "So where to now?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned, "I was thinking a cruise on the Nile," Ulysses said and Xena grinned. "Lead the way," she said as she placed her hand in his and they walked towards the Nile River. There were slots for six small, long boats at the private dock and three were gone. "How much for a ride?" Ulysses asked the man who looked good enough to take them on a ride.

"Twenty," he said and Ulysses nodded and handed the man his money then held his hand out to Xena helping her into the boat and he got in behind her. Ulysses sat down leaning his back against the back of the boat and Xena sat down next to him but her back leaned against his chest. Ulysses wrapped his arm around Xena and the man pushed off with his long oar and they began sailing down the Nile and looking at the beautiful scenery. As she lay against his chest Xena pulled the band off of the papyrus unrolling it and looking at the picture. "I wonder if this is how everybody else sees us?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at the picture, "I know the love we feel is intense but to look at the picture," Ulysses said and Xena nodded. Xena turned her head and looked into Ulysses' eyes, "do you realize how lucky we are? To have the kind of love other people dream about," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes as he caressed her cheek.

"I know how lucky we are, how lucky I am to have such a woman as you. Xena you make my life worth living, I love everything about you. The love that you have for me, the love that I have for you I know is true, strong and pure." He said and he couldn't say anything else since Xena rose up and kissed him deeply and passionately. Ulysses moaned and when the kiss ended they were both somewhat breathless, "if…" Xena said then let out a breath. "If I weren't already married to you I'd expect you to be proposing to me," she said with a grin and Ulysses smiled at her as he placed his hand on her cheek looking deep into her eyes. "Will you, Xena of Amphipolis, marry me? Be my wife?"

He said and she grinned as she leaned in, "umm…I'd like that," she said and he smiled then moaned as he kissed her softly. When the kiss ended she caressed his cheek as she looked into his eyes, "I will be your Queen standing by your side in good times and bad. Being there when you need me to," she said as she began to lean in. "You always are," he whispered to her before they kissed and when the kiss ended Ulysses looked into Xena eyes as she looked into his. "And without a doubt and without question I will be the mother of your children. I will bear your child," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes seeing a desire in them that had nothing to do with the connection they had. "I swear," she said as they leaned in and Ulysses nodded, "I know," he said then kissed her. "Ummm," Xena moaned as she wrapped her arm around Ulysses' shoulder and he moaned as he pulled her closer.

The boat owner smiled at them as he continued to stroll down the Nile. When the kiss ended they didn't break their embrace as they continued to look into each others eyes. "I love you," Ulysses said and Xena nodded as she leaned in and brushed her lips across his. "Tease," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as they kissed and the kiss they shared was soft, passionate and unhurried. They kissed for a while then decided to watch the scenery while they shared soft caresses and little kisses here and there while they talked about any and everything. Xena had rolled the picture back up wanting to keep in it perfect condition and she placed it next to the flowers Ulysses bought her. "You know Cadell is from Greece," Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "really? What's he doing here?"

He asked and Xena let out a breath as her hands played with Ulysses' hands. "He came here to learn more about art but it turns out they didn't accept him or his work. I can't understand why though, Egypt is a place of great things it would have been a plus for them to have someone as great as Cadell." Xena said and Ulysses nodded, "you know as well as I do how people treat outsiders. The Egyptians are famous for their art among other things and it's possible that they feel threaten to have an outsider with a talent as good as theirs."

Ulysses said then placed a kiss on Xena's shoulder while he ran his fingers up her bare arm. "Yea people can be so small minded; anyway Cadell has been working to get enough money to get back to Greece. Unfortunately a trip back home is very expensive so I told him he could catch a ride back with us." Xena said and Ulysses grinned, "I bet he was ecstatic," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she turned her head and looked at him. "You're not mad?" She asked and he grinned at her, "no, why would I be? Besides Cadell is a very gifted artist, I wouldn't mind him painting a few more pictures of you and me.

A few of mom and dad, Camilla and I'm sure Virgil and his family as well as some of the other families in the palace would use his services." Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she ran her fingers through his hair, "you know I hear that the library in Alexandria has an erotica section. We ought to check that out not that you and I need help in that department," he said and Xena continued to laugh in his chest.

When her laughter died down she looked at Ulysses, "ah…what am I going to do with you my love?" Xena asked and Ulysses smiled down at her, "love me," he said and she grinned. "Is that a demand or request my lord?" Xena asked as she ran her finger over his jaw and he looked into her eyes, "both," he said and she grinned and nodded as they prepared to kiss. "When we're finished with the business we have to do," Ulysses started to say when the kiss ended and Xena leaned into his neck placing kisses on his neck with her tongue and sucking softly. "We're gonna go back to the room and practice making a baby so when we're ready we'll get it done on the first try." He said and Xena smiled as she kissed her way up to his ear, "you think we need practice?" She asked then sucked on his earlobe; he closed his eyes and let out a breath as she sucked on his earlobe then pulled on it.

"Well no…no not really but it…it never hurts plus we have so much fun," he stumbled as Xena continued to kiss and suck on his ear and neck and Xena grinned and nodded. "Yes we do have fun and the pleasure is extreme," Xena said and her lips were so close to Ulysses' lips. He nodded as he looked down at her lips, "good pleasure and you," he said in a breathless voice and Xena grinned then leaned in and kissed him. Ulysses moaned as he brought his hand up and held Xena's cheek as he leaned into her adding more pressure to the kiss.

Xena could tell he was trying to deepen the kiss and under normal circumstances she would let him, but she didn't want it to go any further than it could especially when they didn't have any privacy. So she placed her hands on his chest keeping him in his position as she pulled back trying to end the kiss. She smiled as he stretched his neck trying to keep their lips connected. "Sorry my love but we have things to do and it would be distracting us," she said and he let out a breath and looked around. "I see your point besides we're almost back to where we started," he said and she grinned at him. "I promise later on you'll have me all to yourself," she said and he grinned at her then ran his eyes over her body. "I don't doubt that," he said and she grinned at him and when he winked she smiled.

Five minutes later the boat pulled into the small dock and Ulysses got out of the boat then helped Xena out. They thanked the man for the ride giving him a tip which he was very grateful for. They made their way back to the palace where Xena ran inside and placed her flowers and picture on the bed before she went back out. When she was out the palace the horses had been brought out and Ulysses was on his. He looked at Xena as she got on hers, "we're good to go?" He asked and Xena nodded and they galloped away heading to where they went the day before. They left their horses in the same place and took the same tiring trail back up the mountain then climbing the cliff. When they got there they stayed hidden and looked around but didn't really see anyone beyond the guards.

"We're early," Ulysses said as he looked up at the sun and Xena nodded then looked around their surroundings. "Follow me," Xena told Ulysses and he looked at her and followed her but kept an eye on the guards. They moved a ways from where Ptolemy and the others were camped, walking down a small hill until they came to a small pond. They looked around walking through some bushes making sure guards weren't hidden. "Come see what I found," Ulysses told Xena and she looked at him then walked over to where he was pushing bushes out of the way. They walked deep into some brush and when Ulysses moved the last bush out of the way he revealed an opening to a cave. They looked inside then walked in slowly making sure not to startle something if there was anything living in the cave.

There were pockets of sunlight and the cave wasn't all that big because they soon came to a dead end. "Well it seems secure and I don't think they know it's here," Ulysses said and Xena looked around and nodded seeing a few ledges in the walls made for sitting, laying and tables. "I figured we could rest and wait here until it was time to go," he said and Xena nodded as she looked at him. "Sounds good to me, especially if we don't have to be in that hot sun," she said and he grinned and nodded. "I'm gonna get some water do you need some?" Xena asked and Ulysses handed her his water skin and she left to get some water taking a closer look around making sure they were safe and well hidden.

When she walked back into the cave Ulysses was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall sharpening his sword. She walked over to him sitting his water skin down next to his leg. "Took you long enough," he said as he continued to sharpen his sword and she grinned as she gulped down some of the water. "You know me," she said as she sat down on the ledge next to him and he grinned and nodded, "I do," he said. She let out a breath and crossed her legs as she leaned back and ran her fingers through his hair.

"You know it's become apparent to me that whenever we want to have a vacation, we won't be able to. Someone will always need our help no matter where we go and especially if we stay home. So we need a get a way house," she said and Ulysses nodded. "You know maybe we ought to stop helping people then they'll leave us alone," Xena said and Ulysses chuckled. "Do you really think so? I think we need to go far, far a way where no one can find us or has ever heard of us." Ulysses said and Xena chuckled and they sat there for a while both with things on their minds. "Ulysses, would you prefer if I were like other Princesses? You know, frivolous I guess. Spend money on everything, order people around, let you boss me around like I don't have a mind, do nothing all day but sit around doing my nails and hair," she said and Ulysses laughed at her. She looked at him then pushed him on his head, "I'm serious," she said and he sobered up some but was finding it difficult not to laugh.

"Do you want me to be like that?" She asked and he grinned as he shook his head. She let out a breath as he leaned his head down and chuckled before he let out a breath then turned and looked at her. "What put that idea in your head?" He asked and she hunched her shoulders, "just kind of popped in there I guess." She said and he nodded, "and to answer your question no that's not the kind of Queen I want and I definitely don't want you to be like that. Xena one of the things I love most about you is that you're independent. You don't need me or anyone else to tell you what you can and can not do. You're strong, brave, outspoken, all qualities I love about you and not one I would change. Especially since they turn me on," he said with a grin and she shook her head at him.

"Seriously Xena, I don't like women like that, I never have. What good is a woman who can't think for herself? If you want to order people around be my guest but it's not necessary for me. As for spending money, if you want to do that too go ahead but you don't need to do anything of that to prove yourself as a Princess or a Queen. You've already done that in my eyes and I know you'll do that in the eyes of our people. So please my love don't worry," he said and Xena nodded. "Wasn't worried just curious," she said and he nodded then went back to sharpening his sword. They were quiet as they both thought about things they had on their minds. They waited for about twenty five minutes then thought it was time to go. They carefully made their way back to the enemy's camp going up to the caves but staying hidden.

"There's more than one way in here," Ulysses whispered very lowly as they watched Ptolemy and Pothinus walked into the cave from a different entrance. "I have news that the Roman is close," Pothinus said and Ptolemy nodded. "Do you think we can trust him," he asked and Pothinus looked at him, "we'll soon see," he said and a five minutes later Xena and Ulysses heard footsteps so they stooped down lower behind their hiding spot. They looked as Ptolemy's guards escorted Pompey into the cave. "Pompey I take?" Ptolemy asked and Pompey looked at him, "you were expecting someone else?" He asked and Pothinus looked at him, "would you be insulted if we told you we wanted Caesar rather than you?"

Pothinus asked and Pompey grinned at him, "not really. How can I blame you if you have been misinformed?" He said, "misinformed? How?" Ptolemy asked and Pompey looked at him, "may I have a seat and something to drink?" He asked and they looked at him, "of course, forgive my rudeness for not offering earlier," Ptolemy said while waving his hand to a chair and Pompey grinned as he sat down but he never turned his back to them. Pothinus poured them all a glass of wine and when they were all comfortable Pompey looked at them. "You see, everyone believes that Caesar has all the wealth and power. It's not true especially sense, technically we're still three in power although these days we don't really count Crassus.

While it's true that Caesar and I are allies at the moment I am by far a stupid, trusting man. I know given the chance Caesar would see me dead and I also know, once Crassus is gone, Caesar and I will be at war with one another. So, I have shall we say some reserves on the side, reserves that Caesar has no clue about." Pompey said and Pothinus looked at him with a small grin on his lips, "so your plan is to wear him down with this war. Make him loose his soldiers and money and when you have him where you want him," Pothinus said and Pompey grinned and nodded.

"So why then are you here?" Ptolemy asked and Pompey let out a breath, "Caesar has made an unsuspected turn I didn't see coming," he said and Ptolemy nodded. "Cleopatra," he said and Pompey let out a breath, "yes. When I heard he and Cleopatra had been buddy, buddy lately I knew I had to make a move because if I didn't it would mean my end. I don't dare compete for Cleopatra's affection, especially when I know Caesar would win, I doubt many things about him but never his charm with a woman," Pompey said.

"You must be worried that she'll lend him her navy," Pothinus said and Pompey looked at him. "Among other things," Pompey said then stood, "which is why I'm here. You scratch my back, I scratch yours," he said and Pothinus grinned as he stood as well, "I see. You would be willing to help us in our fight against Cleopatra in the hopes that if we win you want our help in defeating Caesar." Pothinus said and Pompey grinned, "I have it on good knowledge that you have what it takes to possibly defeat Cleopatra." Pompey said, "if you know that then why would we possibly need you?" Ptolemy asked and Pompey grinned at him, "I said possibly but if you had me and my army then it would be definitely."

He said and they looked at him then at each other, "can we have a minute to think about this?" Ptolemy asked and Pompey nodded and watched as they went over to a corner to discuss their options. Meanwhile Xena and Ulysses continued to listen to what was being said hoping they could get more information than this. After a couple of minutes Ptolemy and Pothinus walked back over to Pompey, "there are some minor things we need to work out but your plan sounds good," Pothinus said and Pompey grinned and nodded as he held out his arm. "We have a deal," Pompey said and Ptolemy looked into Pompey's eyes as he took Pompey's arm and shook it. "We have a deal but you bet not betray us or renege, if you do you'll regret it," Ptolemy said and Pompey looked at him. "I give you the same advice," he said and they looked at each other for a minute.

"Now Pompey we have accepted you into our company but before we can tell you our plans we need some type of assurance from you. Some proof that you are indeed with us," Pothinus said and Pompey looked at him. "What do you have in mind?" He asked and they looked at him, "information on who Cleopatra has helping her." Pothinus said and Pompey looked at him, "well I can't give you much since you probably know more than I if she picks Caesar then she'll have his army and that may or may not pose a problem. However your problem could lie with two Greeks, Xena and Ulysses, Prince and Princess of Ithaca. They were just married and came to Egypt for their honeymoon when Cleopatra asked for their help instead. Now I haven't that much information on Ulysses, he is of course his father's right hand in Ithaca and he's in charge of security on Ithaca and Paxos.

Xena is most definitely where your problem could lie, I doubt that the King of Ithaca will allow his son to get into a war that they have nothing to do with but if my information is correct and I know it is, Xena is Athena's Chosen, meaning she can have an army here at the snap of her fingers, figuratively speaking of course." Pompey said and Pothinus sat down and looked at Pompey, "tell me about her then so we can know how to get rid of her and her husband." He said and Pompey grinned, Xena and Ulysses continued to hide and listen to them talk about Xena and the ways to get rid of her. That had been good enough for Pothinus to prove that Pompey was in with them so when they were done he took him over to his cave to show him the plans.

Xena and Ulysses needed to move but they couldn't go out the way they came in since guards were patrolling so they followed Pothinus and Pompey into Pothinus' cave. They listened as plans were explained and they remembered everything that was said. While they were listening they heard talking from the other cave and Ulysses looked at Xena and nodded his head towards the way they came saying he was going to check it out. She nodded and continued to listen to the plans, which way they were coming, who it included, their numbers and where and when Pompey would come into play. Meanwhile Ulysses hid behind some boxes and barrels as he listened to Ptolemy and Arsinoe talk. "Do you really think we can trust this Roman Ptolemy?" Arsinoe asked and he looked at her, "Pothinus seems to think so."

He said and she let out a frustrated breath, "forget about what Pothinus thinks and think for yourself. You're putting everything in Pothinus' hands and for all we know he can be in cahoots with the Roman. Right now he's in there telling him all the details of our hard worked plans." She said and Ptolemy stood and looked at her, "what would you have me do Arsinoe? We need his help and besides, he has already proven to us that he can be somewhat trustworthy. He gave us some good information on two of the people Cleopatra has helping her." Ptolemy said and she looked at him. "No doubt I would have been getting that same information in a couple of days. He hasn't told us anything that will really be of any help." Arsinoe said and Ptolemy let out a breath not knowing why he allied himself with his sister.

Her nagging alone would drive him to kill her, "look Arsinoe. Do what you are supposed to be doing and leave everything else up to us." Ptolemy said then turned and left the cave. Arsinoe let out a frustrated breath as she poured herself a glass of water. "I'm thinking of having him killed sooner rather than later," Arsinoe said as she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders. "Patience Arsinoe, let them think and act how they want to for a while longer until you and I can make our move." Ganymede said as he moved Arsinoe's hair to one shoulder and she turned around and looked at him placing her hand on his cheek as she looked into his eyes. "Please tell me I won't be too long my love. I can't stand being around them, these idiots."

She said and he grinned at her as he placed his hands on her waist. "What time do you meet your informant inside the palace?" He asked and she looked at him, "we're meeting at night, two hours after they've had dinner. It'll be easier to get into the palace; I'm supposed to meet him in the garden by the pond." She said and he nodded, "good. Do you want me to go with you?" He asked and she grinned as she looked into his eyes seeing concern. "Why not? I could use the company on the way there and I don't think it'll be a problem with my person on the inside." She said and he nodded then pulled her close to him, "soon we will be rid of them all and everything will be ours.

It will be just you and me," he said then grinned as he placed his hand on her stomach feeling a bulge. "And our baby," he said and she grinned as she placed her hand on his then leaned in and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended they grinned at each other and Ulysses watched as Ganymede caressed Arsinoe's cheek. "You look tired, why don't you take a nap?" He suggested and she grinned as she took his hand in hers, "only if you take one with me," she said and he grinned and Ulysses watched them walk out of the cave. He shook his head at all this backstabbing that was going on then made his way back over to Xena. She felt him behind her and they continued to look and listened as they talked about plans while drinking some.

An hour later they weren't saying anything useful so Xena and Ulysses decided it was time to leave and that hopefully that had gotten more than enough information to help Cleopatra. It was a little harder getting out than it was getting in. There seemed to be guards all over the place so they had to be careful. When they were clear of all the guards they made their way back down talking about what they had heard and what thought their move was going to be so that they could tell Cleopatra. When they were down the hill they made their way back to the horses and rode back to the palace. When they got back to the palace Cleopatra was in a meeting with her advisors concerning the very problem Xena and Ulysses were looking in to. "We're you successful?" She asked and they looked at her, "we'd rather talk to you about that alone," Ulysses said and Cleopatra looked at them and nodded.

"Very well," she said then looked at her advisors who took the hint and got up and left. "Please have a seat," Cleopatra said and they sat down and looked at her. When the door finally closed that's when they began to talk. "So what did you find out?" She asked and they both let out a breath, "what didn't we find out? Pompey is joined Ptolemy and the others. He knew you would never pick him if you had to choose between him and Cesar, so he decided to join them in hopes that they would win and he would have their support in his war against Caesar." Xena said and Cleopatra looked at her, "we know the majority of their plans and we'll go over them with you and your war advisors in a few days. They're trying to get every last detail in order so that nothing goes wrong so at most you have a month to get ready.

However that's not solid," Ulysses said and Cleopatra let out a breath. "You still have a traitor in your midst but we won't know who that is until the end of the week but we can tell you it is someone close to you. Maybe one of your Advisors," Xena said, "it can't be one of my advisors. They're all loyal to me and I trust them completely," Cleopatra said and Xena hunched her shoulders, "we're just telling you what we think Cleopatra and trust me we have been at this a long time to tell what kind of traitor you have. It's someone close to you because they know a lot of information. Who other than your advisors know what you know?" Xena asked her and Cleopatra looked at her, "I'll take what you have said into consideration but I just can't see one of them being a traitor." She said and Xena looked at her, "then that's how you'll loose your life or worse, your kingdom." Xena told her and Cleopatra let out a breath.

"Now there maybe a bright spot in all of this, it seems that Arsinoe is not happy with what's been going on. She thinks Pothinus has too much control over the situation and Ptolemy is blinding following." Ulysses said and Cleopatra looked at him, "you were right about her and Ganymede, they are lovers and Arsinoe is pregnant. They have their own plans as far as taking down Ptolemy and Pothinus but unfortunately we don't know what they are. We're not sure if that's all they want or if they want to continue to take Egypt from you. I don't know if they'll go that way or not," Ulysses said and Cleopatra nodded. "Thank you both, you have given more information than I could've ever hoped for," she said and Xena and Ulysses nodded as they stood. "We were happy that we could help," Xena said and Cleopatra grinned at her.

"Can I assume for the next four days you want to be alone and undisturbed?" She asked with a grin and Xena and Ulysses smiled at each other. "You can definitely assume that," Ulysses said and Cleopatra nodded. "I'll make sure that your meals are sent to your room," she said and Xena grinned at her, "thanks," she said and Cleopatra nodded. "It's the least I can do. Are you sure there isn't anything else I can do for you? You've helped me so much I am in your debt and so is Egypt." She said and Xena looked at her, "well there are two things you can do," Xena said with a grin.

"Name them," Cleopatra said and Xena grinned as she walked over to her then whispered in her ear so that Ulysses couldn't hear. "Something poetic," Ulysses heard Xena say and Cleopatra nodded. "And the other," Xena said then leaned back in and whispered and Cleopatra smiled and nodded. "It will be done," she said and Xena smiled at her, "thanks," Xena said then walked over to Ulysses who looked at her. "We should be going, I'm sure Cleopatra has tons to do," Xena said and Ulysses nodded then opened the door. Xena walked out and he followed her closing the door behind him and they walked down the hall in silence for a few minutes.

"So what was that all about?" Ulysses asked and Xena looked at him, "what was what all about?" She asked and he looked at her a grin appearing on his face. "The whispering you were doing with Cleopatra," he said and she nodded, "oh…that," she said then turned forward and continued walking. "Nothing really, I was just telling her about getting one of her famous writers to copy a few famous stories and maybe write a few poems for Virgil." Xena said and Ulysses looked at her, "uh huh," he said then pulled out the key and opened the door to their room. "And somehow I just don't believe that was all of it," he said as he walked into the room and Xena grinned as she turned and looked at him. "Are you saying I'm lying?" She asked with a grin and he walked up to her, "I know it," he said and she grinned as she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Maybe I am and maybe I'm not you'll just have to see," she said when the kiss ended and he looked into her eyes seeing mischief. "What's going on behind those beautiful baby blues?" Ulysses asked as he caressed her cheek and she looked into his eyes as she picked up his hand and kissed his fingers. He looked at her falling into her eyes, "how much do you love me?" She asked him, "more than my own life," he said and she grinned as she placed another kiss on his fingers. "And would you do anything for me?" She asked as she stepped closer, "anything," he said and she smiled as she took his hand and placed it on her inner thigh. "I want you to go into town and get some of those sweet treats. You know the one with the honey all over and sugar on top?"

She asked and he nodded as his hand caressed the soft flesh of her thigh, "and get all the others we thought were good," she said. "What's in it for me?" He asked and she grinned as she took his hand moving it closer to her center, "do this for me and when you get back," she said then moved closer as she moved Ulysses' hand under her underwear then ran his fingers between her lips. "I'm all yours," she said as she removed her hand from his then met him half way for a kiss. Ulysses moaned into the kiss and with his free arm he wrapped it around Xena pulling her closer while his other hand was busy stroking her steaming hot flesh. Xena moaned and pushed into Ulysses' hand; when the kiss ended they were both breathless as they looked into each other's eyes.

"Something to tide you over until you get back," she said as she removed his fingers and he looked down at his glistening fingers then at Xena. He leaned in and took her lips in a passionate kiss, so passionate she had to take air in through her nose. She moaned and when the kiss ended she was definitely breathless, "I will be back as soon as I can and when I get back," he said as he raised her chin looking deeply into her eyes, "I'm going to show you how long your husband can go and the pleasure I can create.

We'll experience something we've never experienced before, this I promise you," he told her and she looked into his eyes. "Please hurry up and come back because I can't wait," she said and he looked into her eyes then kissed her softly before he turned and left the room. Xena closed the door behind him leaning against it as she let out a breath _'gods I can't wait until that man comes back'_ she thought to herself. She let out another breath as she pushed off the wall and began preparing her romantic evening for Ulysses; sending him for the treats was just a way to get him out of the room. She went to take a quick shower washing her hair and scrubbing her body down.

When she was done she dried off then headed into the bedroom; just as she put her robe on there was a knock at the door and when she answered the door it was the servants bringing in the things she had asked Cleopatra for. "Put them by the fireplace," she said and that's where they headed. Xena had asked Cleopatra for some furs, blankets and pillows and without asking the servants knew how to set up the blanket's furs and pillows in front of the fire place creating a nice little, comfortable nest. While Xena oiled her hair then brushed it until it was dry and it shined the servants were in and out bringing in trays of fruit, creams, cheeses, and sweets. They also brought in a few bottles of the wine that they had the other night at dinner. Xena had to admit that wine was good, it was sweet and potent, exactly the way to get Ulysses the way she wanted him.

When they were done they left Xena and she oiled her body down in Freesia oil that she bought today at the market. When she was done she went into her bag and pulled out an outfit she bought from home, it had been made especially for her. She put it on then let out a breath as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was never a pink person but when she tried the outfit on she liked it. She wore a pink G-string that went with the top. It was kind of like a shirt but was definitely sleeveless and the front was made like a bra-like top and fabric came down on the side about the middle of her thighs leaving the front of her uncovered and in the back not really covering her butt. She let out a breath as she looked at herself then ran her fingers through her hair _'you look too good for him to even try to resist you and hopefully he'll give you what you want tonight.'_ She thought to herself then let out a breath as she went about the room lighting a few candles that had been left for her creating a romantic atmosphere.

She poured two glasses of wine then sat the bottle down by the blankets. She took a few gulps of hers riding herself of the little nervousness she had. There was a knock at the door and she walked into the sitting area to answer the door but before she did she ran her fingers through her hair and let out a breath. She opened the door and it was Ulysses with four boxes in his arms. "I thought we tried more than four," she said as she took two of the boxes from him and he looked at her as she walked away. His eyes ran over the gorgeous body of his wife; he walked into the room, closed the door and locked it.

Xena placed the boxes she took from Ulysses on the table then walked back over to him and took the rest of the boxes from him sitting them on the table as well. "Yea we did try more than four but I was in a hurry to get back to you," he said as Xena stood in front of him and he looked over her body. "Wow," he said and Xena smiled, "baby you look…" he said then shook his head as he looked at her. "You like?" She asked and he nodded, "I do," he said and she grinned as she took his hands.

"Then you're going to like what else I have planned. Follow me," she said as she took his hand and pulled him towards the bedroom; his eyes nearly came out of his head when he saw the back of her. They walked into the bedroom and Ulysses looked around at all that had been done while Xena closed the bedroom door. She walked over to the table picked up Ulysses' glass then walked over to him and handed it to him. He took the glass from her and as he took a gulp she walked up to him and pulled his shirt out of his pants and began undoing it. Ulysses' eyes seemed to be glued to Xena's body and he couldn't wait to get his hands on her.

"Distracted my love," she asked as she pulled the shirt off and he grinned as he looked at her. "You're damn right and for good reason," he said as he switched his glass to his other hand so that he shirt could come off. Xena threw the shirt to the floor then pushed Ulysses down in a chair; she kicked his legs open so that she could stand between them. He looked at her and she looked down at him as she ran her finger over his cheek then raised his glass to his lips watching as he took a deep gulp. She stooped down in front of him running her hands over his thighs teasing him. He grinned as he took another gulp and she grinned as she began to undo his boots. When they were off she sat them to the side then stood up. She leaned into him and he leaned forward and inhaled her scent, "by all the gods you smell wonderful," Ulysses said and Xena smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair.

She closed her eyes when she felt his lips on her stomach and his free hand on her butt. She was tempted, so tempted to let him do whatever he wanted but she had to stick to the plan. She pulled back and looked at him as she took his hand pulling him up out of the chair and lead him over to the area in front of the fire place. "Sit," she said and without thought or question he sat down leaning back against some pillows. She walked over to him looking down at him with a grin on her face, "I have a special night prepared for us," she said as she got down on her knees then moved over to him. "Really? And what will this night hold?" He asked and Xena grinned as she sat next to him picking up the bottle of wine and pouring more into his glass. "Well there's drinking and a little eating," she said as she picked up a strawberry biting into it.

He looked at her and nodded as he took a gulp of drink, "what else?" He asked and she grinned at him, "well there will be other fun activities and if you're good," she said as she leaned in and ran her hand over his chest. "We'll get down to the real pleasure of the evening," she said then kissed him softly. Ulysses moaned as he tasted the strawberry and when the kiss ended he looked at Xena with longing in his eyes. "Why don't we just skip everything and get to the real pleasure part?" He suggested and she laughed, "I assure you you're going to like what I have in store for you." She said and Ulysses looked at her and grinned as he took another gulp of wine. The evening went on and Xena fed Ulysses fruit dipped in different creams letting some of the honey dribble onto his chin and chest which she happily cleaned off.

They often shared fruit then lips going into some of the most passionate kisses they had ever had. As they kissed Xena undid Ulysses' belt, "what are you doing?" He asked between a kiss with a grin on his face, "making sure you're comfortable," Xena said as she pulled the belt off throwing it across the room. "Now that is so much better," Xena said as she moved closer and ran her hand over his waist down to the bulge in his pants. Xena leaned in kissed and sucked on Ulysses' neck as she slightly rubbed the bulge in his pants. "Isn't that better?" She asked Ulysses as she sucked on his earlobe and he nodded.

"Yea," he said and Xena smiled then leaned in and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended she caressed his cheek then went to feeding him little sweet treats; he nibbled on one then fed one to Xena. They sucked on each others fingers and lips, Ulysses drained his glass of wine with help from Xena. She didn't want him drunk for the evening just relaxed so she didn't pour him another glass. Ulysses fed her a slice of peach dipped in a sweet, white cream sauce. She moaned as she ate the fruit then sucked on his fingers running her tongue all over the top and down to where the juice had run. Ulysses looked at her and grinned. She did the same with him feeding him a piece of cantaloupe then sucking on his chin and making her way down.

Before Ulysses new it he was laying flat on his back and Xena straddled his waist as she ran her hands over his chest while her tongue traced his tattoos. She bit, sucked, licked and kissed all over his chest teasing him and driving him crazy as she made her way down. Xena ran her hands over Ulysses' sides and looked up at him as she kissed right above his navel. He had his eyes closed and was just relaxing in her touch. She grinned to herself and continued to kiss her way down her hands beginning to unbutton his pants. She grinned as his breathing picked up; when she had his pants undone she pulled them back until she was kissing his pubic hair. Then suddenly she stopped; Ulysses raised his head and looked at her and when he saw the smile on her face he let out a groan. "Why do you tease me so?"

He asked and she grinned as she lay next to him and caressed his cheek. He opened his eyes turned his head and looked at her. "Because I can and because when we make love I want you big and hard." She said as she looked into his eyes while rubbing the bulge, "and I've learned the more I tease you and make you wait the bigger and harder you become." She said and he licked his lips as he looked at her, "you know I love being inside you. Stretching you but be careful with what you've found out. Its true and I uh…I don't want to hurt you," he said and Xena grinned at him as she ran her finger over his lips. "Don't worry about me. I can handle anything you're willing to give. I want you to take me to all those great places," she said and he looked at her then down at her lips. "Careful what you wish for," he whispered to her just before he kissed her softly but passionately.

They spent twenty more minutes feeding each other fruit and sharing kisses and caresses in between. Soon they forgot about the fruit and Ulysses was on his side facing Xena and he was kissing and sucking on her neck while his hand ran over her thigh and butt. Xena had her eyes closed, head tilted back and her finger running through Ulysses' hair as she moaned in pleasure. "Gods you smell divine and you taste better than ambrosia," he moaned as he kissed his way up to her ear. Xena moaned and ran her hand over his arm gently pulling on it telling him he was welcomed to take more. "Xena," he called as he pulled back and she opened her eyes and looked at him, "hmm?" She asked as she ran her fingers over his cheek, "not that I haven't enjoyed eating the fruit but I'm going to be blunt and tell you I'd much rather be eating you."

He said and she grinned at him, "you're such a sweet talker," she said and he smiled. "Does that mean yes?" He asked then kissed her, when the kiss ended she looked at him. "Yea," she said with a grin then laughed as he attacked her neck and pulled her closer. Ulysses began to worship Xena's body for what seemed like hours to her but she was enjoying every last minute of it. She thought she was in the Elysian Fields when he buried his head between her thighs and tasted every last inch of her, moaning as he did so. When he felt like he had paid great attention to her body, he kissed his way back up and they started passionately kissing.

Xena ran her fingers all through Ulysses' hair as she wrapped her legs around his body while they kissed. In time she rolled him onto his back and paid so much attention to every pleasurable spot on his body, that he was almost hyperventilating and Xena had a great big smile on her face when she kissed her way back up. "You're gonna kill me one day," he said with a grin as he tried to catch his breath while he looked into Xena's eyes and she continued to smile at him. "But I'll die a happy man," he said then kissed her softly but passionately. This kiss was of course just the beginning of things and an hour later they both laid there covered in sweat but with smiles on their faces.

Xena turned on her stomach and shook her hair away from her face as she reached for a strawberry and ate it. "Mmm…I'm famished," she said then smiled when Ulysses leaned over and placed a kiss on her back then shoulder. "You should be after the workout we just had," he said and Xena smiled as she turned and looked at him then fed him a grape and he smiled at her and she smiled at him as she leaned in and kissed him. "Now this is what I pictured our honeymoon like," Xena said when the kiss ended and Ulysses nodded as he picked his glass up and took a small gulp of wine. "And didn't I promise you that I would make all you wanted come true and more," he said as he leaned over then placed a couple of kisses or her neck and Xena couldn't help but continuing smiling.

"Yes you did," she said then turned her head and met Xena for a kiss. "Mmmm," Ulysses moaned and when the kiss ended he looked into his wife's eyes as he ran his fingers through her hair. "You know what?" He whispered to her, "what?" Xena asked as she played with Ulysses' fingers. "I'm so in love with you," he said and Xena blushed as she looked down and smiled and Ulysses chuckled at her. "That's a good thing, you know why?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked deep into her eyes, "tell me," he said. "Well because you're a handsome guy," she said and Ulysses laughed at her and Xena laughed with him. "But mostly because I'm so in love with you, completely and utterly," she said and Ulysses smiled at her.

They continued to lay there on the floor and talk to each other as they ate some more fruit then they began to play and wrestle which was fun and relaxing but at the end it led to them making slow, passionate love. Morning came and Ulysses was the first to wake up and he and Xena were in the same positions when they fell asleep, spooning one another with the sheet covering their bodies. Ulysses looked down at Xena as she continued to sleep and he just laid there and watched her sleep for the longest, he didn't even move to go relieve himself. After a while, he softly ran his fingers up and down her arm and Xena began to stir so he placed a kiss on her shoulder and she grinned when she felt that loving touch.

"Good morning," Ulysses said and Xena grinned as she turned her head and looked at him, "good morning," she said as she touched his cheek and they both smiled as they met each other for a kiss. "How about a nice hot bath then a hot breakfast and depending on our mood we can either lie here all day and make love to each other or we can go out, explore Egypt a little bit more then come back and make love to each other," Ulysses said and Xena smiled at him. "Both sound like a good plan," she said and Ulysses smiled. "Well we have a couple of days before we have to check on that informant so we can do both," Ulysses suggested and Xena grinned as she leaned in.

"I like that plan even better," she said then kissed him softly and when the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes. "You go run and the bath and I'll send for the food," Ulysses said and Xena nodded and they both went different ways. Xena couldn't do anything but smile as she walked into the bath chamber with the sheet wrapped around her body and she began to run them a bath and as she did so, memories of last night ran through her mind and all that did was make her smile more. She poured different oils into the bath water and before long she felt strong arms wrapped around her.

"Hey," he whispered into her ear and Xena smiled as she caressed Ulysses' arms before she turned in them. "Hey," she replied back then they shared a passionate kiss and continued to kiss until Xena remembered the bath water. She went to cut the water off and just as she was doing so there was a knock at the door which of course would be their breakfast and Ulysses went to answer the door. The servants brought their food into the room then left and Ulysses went back into the bath chamber where he found Xena already in the tub. "The water's great, come on in," Xena said with a smile and Ulysses smiled back as he took of his robe, throwing it to the side and hoped into the water splashing water every where but mostly on Xena who laughed at him and so began a game of water war in the tub.

When they were done they soaked for a while, took their baths then got out and went to eat their breakfast. They chose this day to lounge around and make love and that's exactly what they did and they enjoyed themselves to the fullest. That day came and passed on when the next day came, their morning was much like the one before but their day would be different since they were going out and about. They explored Egypt some more, went and saw the pyramids, camel back riding, they even took another ride down the Nile since it was so beautiful and relaxing. They spent the majority of their day out and about and when it began to get late they headed back to the palace.

When the reached the palace and were headed back to their room, they were stopped by one of the scribes. "My lord Ulysses?" The scribe asked, "yes," Ulysses answered. "My Queen asked me to copy some things for you, poems stories, for a friend," he said and Ulysses nodded. "Can you come with me for a little bit and just give me an idea of what your friend would like," he said and Ulysses looked at him. "What's your name?" Ulysses asked, "Panearo and I promise my lord it'll only be a couple of minutes," he said and Ulysses nodded then looked at Xena. "I'll meet you back at the room," he said then leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek before he turned and walked away with the scribe.

Xena turned and was headed to the room when she walked by two large wooden doors with small glass windows. She saw a candle burning in there so she walked over to the doors and looked through the glass and she saw Cleopatra sitting at the table. She was sitting there with a look on her face that said she had a lot on her mind, for some reason and Xena didn't know why but she placed her hand on the handle and turned it. The door opened gently but by far not quietly, Xena walked in and closed the door quietly behind her. She walked over to the table and just when she had gotten close Cleopatra looked up and she had a knife in her hand. Xena stopped and held up her hands, "you of all people should know Xena that just because I am a woman doesn't mean I'm incapable of protecting myself."

She said and Xena nodded as she lowered her hands, "I wasn't trying to sneak up on you, it's just my training has made my walking a lot quieter," Xena said as she slowly walked over to the table. "What can I do for you?" Cleopatra asked as she placed the knife back to it's hidden place. "I was walking back to my room when I noticed the light in here and I saw you and you looked as if you had something on your mind," Xena said as she sat down and Cleopatra looked at her. "My brother and sister are trying to steal my kingdom, of course I have something on my mind," she said and Xena nodded.

"With something like that who wouldn't have things on their minds," Xena said, "but I sense that what's on your mind goes deeper than that," she said and Cleopatra looked at Xena. "Are you here to be my conscience Xena, I have servants for that," she said as she stood and walked over to a large window and she looked out at her mighty empire. "You are right about that, you have so many servants you practically don't have to do anything but how many friends can you say you have." Xena asked her as she too stood but she just leaned against the table and Cleopatra slightly turned her head when she heard the word friend. "You seek to be my friend Xena?" She asked as she turned her head and looked at Xena who walked up to her as she stared back.

"No, I don't need to be your friend but I thought you could use one, someone who doesn't want anything from you," Xena said and Cleopatra grinned at that. "Everyone wants something from me, since they day I was born," she said. Then let out a breath and turned and looked at Xena, "will you walk with me?" She asked and Xena looked at her and nodded, "sure," she said and they left the room, which from looking around looked like some kind of archive room. They left the room and headed to Cleopatra's chambers, "have a seat," she told Xena and Xena looked around then sat down on the sofa, which she had to admit was very comfortable.

"Would you like something to drink?" Cleopatra asked as she placed her shawl on a nearby chair, "no, I'm alright," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded then turned and walked over to the sofa where she sat down. "What are we doing here? Or what am I doing here since this is your room?" Xena asked and Cleopatra grinned at there, "are you always so suspicious?" She asked, "it comes with the territory," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded. "Well, my room is one of the places here that doesn't have ears, I'd be a fool to think my palace was almighty safe and secure," she said. "Hmm," Xena hummed as she nodded, "and you would think me a fool to not know that my room doesn't have ears," Xena said and Cleopatra looked at her.

"A precaution I assure you, I could not be sure of your intentions even though I had asked for your help," she said. "Are you always so paranoid?" Xena asked and Cleopatra grinned at her, "it comes with the territory," she said and Xena grinned and nodded. "You know I envy you Xena, I envy all those not born into the life of royalty," she said and Xena raised an eyebrow at that. "You envy me because I was born a peasant, I feel so warm on the inside," Xena said. "No offense meant," Cleopatra said, "none taken," Xena said and Cleopatra let out a breath. "It's horrible to say but sometimes I actually wished that one of my foes would win so that I would be free," she said and Xena looked at her.

"Free from the burden of ruling?" Xena asked, "its not just that," Cleopatra said as she sat forward, "it's the burden of decision making and expectations, always having to be on my toes, even more so because I'm a woman, someone is always trying to get over on me, and its just…tiring. I have no life outside of being Queen, as everyone says, I am Egypt," she said and Xena looked at her. "I envy you because you have time to do other things besides be Athena's Chosen, you have time to love," she said and Xena looked at her. "I don't understand, if you have servants to do everything why is it that you stay so busy?" Xena asked, "because I am Egypt, I am the morning and the evening sun, I have to stay on top of things all the time otherwise I am looked upon as weak and neglecting my kingdom."

She said and Xena nodded, "I can understand that," she said and Cleopatra let out a breath. "Are you thinking about giving Ptolemy and Arsinoe control of…" and before she could even finish her statement Cleopatra answered her. "Are you crazy?" She asked, "I understood the day my father made Ptolemy and myself co-rulers that my life would no longer be my own, I accepted that because I was my responsibility, I was born into this role of leadership," she said. "Yea but Egypt once had co-rulers, you weren't supposed to be running Egypt on your own," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded. "Yes, but things are what they are now and I won't let Egypt fall into unstable hands, I give my life so that Egypt can have one," she said and Xena looked at her.

"I honestly wish there were a way I could help you would this but I can't, as you said it's your burden to bear," Xena said and she nodded. "But I do understand where you're coming from," Xena said, "do you?" Cleopatra asked in a disbelieving voice. "Do you think my life is easy or will become easy with being Athena's chosen, Princess of Ithaca, one day Queen, a wife and one day a mother?" Xena said and Cleopatra looked at her, "you have a point," she said and Xena nodded. "But I take things as they come to me and it helps to know that I'm following my destiny that this is the rode I'm meant to be on," Xena said. "You're right, obviously this is what Destiny has is store for me, we make our own fate so I should take this in stride," Cleopatra said and Xena nodded.

"Thanks for the talk Xena," she said and Xena nodded as she stood. "You're welcomed, I have to go, Ulysses is waiting for me," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded and walked Xena to the door. "We should do this again, I feel…better having talked to you," she said and Xena grinned. "Sure, no problem," Xena said then left the room and headed back to her room. When she got there Ulysses had just walked into the room and she grinned at him as she closed the door and locked it. "Have you been exploring the palace?" He asked with a grin and Xena smiled at him as she walked into the bedroom, "no, I ran into Cleopatra and we were talking, she had some things on her mind, you know its not easy running an entire nation," she said as she began to get undress and Ulysses nodded as he sat down on the bed.

"I can imagine, with Ithaca and Paxos and the other kingdoms that we help, it's almost like running an entire nation. Thank goodness that we have help and I have you," he said and Xena grinned. "That's right, we have each other," she said and he grinned and nodded. Their dinner was brought to them and they sat on the balcony where they ate and talked then went back inside and of course made love. The four days they had off passed too quickly for them but on the bright side they thought about when they got this last bit of information for Cleopatra the rest of their time the remaining days there would be for them. At least they had the whole day today for themselves, and they spent it wisely, they had a good time, relaxed, had fun and most of all they did their favorite activity, what their honeymoon was mostly supposed to be about.

"What do you suppose life will be like for us when we get back home?" Xena asked and she and Ulysses walked hand in hand and barefoot in the sand along the outskirts of the palace watching the moon as it began to set. "Well I suppose in the beginning things will be a little slow, just so until you get the hang of things and then they'll really pick up. The life of royalty is by far an everyday job, things don't stop just because the sun goes down." He said and Xena nodded as she looked up at the time, "but we'll have time for us?" Xena asked and Ulysses stopped walking and looked at Xena, "we'll have more than enough time for us, I'll make sure of it," he said as he caressed her cheek and Xena grinned.

"And so will I, our marriage is a partnership we'll make it work together," Xena said and Ulysses grinned as he leaned in. "I knew there was a reason why I loved you so much," he said and Xena chuckled as he kissed her softly. "I thought it was because I was great in bed," she said and he smiled at that. "There's that too," he said and Xena grinned then moaned as they stood there and shared a soft, passionate kiss as the sun began was almost finished setting. "We better start making our way back," he said and Xena nodded and they walked hand in hand back to the palace where they got ready to ease drop on Arsinoe to see who her inside person was.

Meanwhile back in Cleopatra's chambers she was standing at the table with the maps on it and looked down at it, speculations running through her mind. "Everyone isn't out to kill you, you know," Athena said as she appeared across the table and Cleopatra looked at her. "You're not an Egyptian god so I'll take it as you don't know that much about Egyptian way of life," she said as she went back to looking at the maps. "Don't think me a fool Cleopatra, I may not be an Egyptian God but life is life and if you thought that I didn't know enough of Egyptian life then I wouldn't be a primary God that is worshiped here in Egypt."

Athena said and Cleopatra grinned at the goddess as she walked away from the table and over to another table where she poured herself a drink. "Would you like a glass?" She asked Athena who shook her head, "Athena must we have this conversation every time you come and see me?" She asked as she sat down in a very comfortable chair and Athena looked at her, "lucky for you I'm not her to talk about your trust issues," she sad. "Then what are you here to talk about?" Cleopatra asked, "when you have this last bit of information will you need anymore help from Xena?" Athena asked and Cleopatra let out a breath as she looked at the glass in her hand, "after this last but of information I should be able to do without her, it would be nice if she and Ulysses could enjoy the rest of their honeymoon without anymore interference from me."

She said and Athena looked at her for a moment then grinned, "I see she's gotten to you," Athena said and Cleopatra looked at her. "You presume too much, she is a peasant and I am an Egyptian Queen, she could no more get to me than a hungry child on the street begging for food." She said and Athena looked at her for a moment, "I hope for your sake that isn't true," she said and Cleopatra grinned at her, "relax, relax…I was only kidding, you need to learn how to relax," Cleopatra said and Athena shook her head. "You, Xena and Aphrodite, you all frustrate me," Athena said and Cleopatra smiled at her. "I'll take that as a compliment," she said and Athena shook her head.

"I told Xena all she needed to do was provide you with the information that you needed and since she has done that, they'll probably be leaving in a couple of days," Athena said and Cleopatra nodded. "I know, and I'm confident that with this information I'll be better able tot defend Egypt and continue to keep my throne," she said and Athena nodded. "I'll be seeing you Cleopatra," Athena said then left in the blink of an eye. Cleopatra grinned to herself and shook her head just before she took another sip of wine and thought about how things would turn out, if all of the information that Xena and Ulysses provided her with was true.

The moon was now in the sky, the only light that could be seen was from the moon especially from the garden. Deep in the garden where there were more trees than anything, Arsinoe and Ganymede stood in the shadows waiting for Arsinoe's contact on the inside and they weren't aware that Xena and Ulysses were near by also hiding in the shadows. "Where is he?" Arsinoe asked in a hush voice, "he'll be here, we're a little early," Ganymede said and a few minutes later the leaves on a near by tree began to rattle and instinctively, Ganymede pulled his sword and faced the noise, which was Cleopatra's advisor Hotep.

"Hotep? Hotep is our insider?" Ganymede asked as he turned and looked at Arsinoe who nodded as she pushed his hand down that held the sword and at that moment Xena and Ulysses began to listen more closely. "One of Cleopatra's head advisors is betraying her, now that's rich," Ganymede said with a grin as he sheathe his sword. "What is he doing here?" Hotep asked Arsinoe who looked at him, "what does it matter? He's with me, now what have you got to tell me?" Arsinoe said and Hotep looked at them both then let out a breath. "Cleopatra has Athena's Chosen and the Prince of Ithaca here and they're helping her."

"We know that already, now tell us something we don't know," Ganymede said and Hotep looked at him. "Well do you know that she's sent them on Arsinoe's trail, they were told where you like to go and I believe they went there, now if they got anywhere I don't know, they won't talk to anyone but Cleopatra and she hasn't told us anything," he said and Arsinoe looked at him then at Ganymede. "We haven't had any problems as far as I know; there are two ways to get up there and one way we have guarded heavily and the other is a jungle, they would be crazy to go through there," he said and she let out a breath and looked at Hotep. "Is there anything else we should know?" She asked and he shook his head, "only that I believe they were productive so whatever your plan, you need to act quickly or you'll be worrying more about your lives than ruling Egypt."

He said and Arsinoe nodded, "why are you betraying Cleopatra?" Ganymede asked and Hotep looked at him, "my reasons are my own but…" he said then stopped as he looked at them. "What?" Arsinoe asked as he stared at her, "I sense from you that you don't really want to kill Cleopatra, perhaps you and she can come to some understanding. Perhaps you and she can become co-rulers and neither of you has to die, because if you keep down this road one of you will die. You and she have a better understanding and can rule better than she and Ptolemy did, he was all about power and absolute rule, he didn't want to share the throne which lead to the many decisions that he made that has him in the place where he is now."

Arsinoe listened to what Hotep had to say and then she looked up at the many stars in the sky and realized that most of his words rung true in her heart. "Enough of this," Ganymede said then placed his hand on Arsinoe's shoulder. "You know how to contact me if there is anything else you should find out," she said and Hotep nodded. "We need to get going," Ganymede said and Arsinoe nodded and just like that they disappeared in the shadows and Hotep stood there a moment more before he too disappeared and once they were all gone, only then did Ulysses and Xena quietly make their way back inside the palace and to Cleopatra's chambers.

When they knocked on the door, moments later Cleopatra answered it and she was in her sleeping robes. "This couldn't wait until morning?" She asked, "we know who the traitor is," Xena said and Cleopatra looked at her then opened the door wider and let them in then closed it behind them. "Have a seat," she said and she too sat down as they sat on the sofa. "What have you found out?" She asked as she crossed her legs, "the spy that they have inside is one of your advisors, its Hotep," Xena said and Cleopatra looked at Xena. "Are you positive?" She asked, "we saw and heard him with our own eyes and ears," Ulysses said and Cleopatra let out a curse as she stood and walked a couple of feet a way.

"How could I have not seen this?" She asked as she shook her head, "there was no way you could have seen this Cleopatra," Xena said. "Hotep is one of your trusted advisors, he has a responsibility to take care of Egypt and you trusted him to do that, so why would you think that he would betray you this way, betray Egypt?" Xena spoke to her and Cleopatra shook her head as she walked over to the door, then called to near by guards over. "I want the advisor Hotep found and arrested immediately and wake Dagun and have him come to my chambers immediately," Cleopatra said. "Yes my Queen," they replied together then quickly left to do her bidding.

"Cleopatra, you arrest Hotep now and Arsinoe and Ptolemy are going to know that something's up and their plans are going to change, that month we predicted a couple of days earlier could turn into a couple of days or weeks." Ulysses said and Cleopatra nodded, "I know, that's exactly why I sent for Dagun, we're going to attack them before they attack us," she said and Xena looked at her. "It's your choice but we've provided you with the information that you needed," she said then looked at Ulysses as she stood and he stood as well and they prepared to leave. "I need you help," Cleopatra shouted as Xena placed her hand on the door handle.

"You and Ulysses are the only ones who have been up there so you know what their lay out is like," she said. "We could tell you what their lay out is like but the last thing we want to do on our honeymoon is getting into a war," Ulysses said. "Now you asked us to help you with getting some information and we have done that," Ulysses continued and Xena looked at him then at Cleopatra. Xena stood there and listened to Cleopatra and Ulysses and she realized even though Cleopatra needed help, that this was her honeymoon and she had already helped Cleopatra with one matter, she was torn between whether she should help her with this one.

She turned and looked at Ulysses who looked back at her and could see that Xena was going to help her and he looked into her eyes and shook his head. "I'm sorry for being selfish my love, but this is our time," he said and Xena nodded as she placed her hands on his arms. "I know," she said and he looked into her eyes then looked down as he realized how ever selfish he wanted to be he couldn't, his heart wouldn't let him be because just as Xena knew, he knew this was the right thing to do, even if Cleopatra had caused this situation somewhat prematurely. "We'll help you," Xena said and Cleopatra let out a breath of relief, "thank you," she said and Ulysses looked at her.

"Thank us when this is over and when it is you will owe us big time," he said with demand in his eyes and Cleopatra slightly titled her head in respect and Ulysses shook his head. "We're going camping in the woods next time," he said as he opened the door and Xena grinned at him. Just as he opened the door Dagun was getting ready to knock and he looked at Ulysses and Xena before he directed his attention to Cleopatra. "You sent for me my Queen," he said and Cleopatra nodded, "Xena and Ulysses have found out who the traitor is," she said and Dagun looked at her.

"Who is it?" He asked, "Hotep," she said and he looked at her, standing there in stunned silence. "I don't believe it, he is so loyal to you and Egypt," Dagun said. "It is true, they saw him talking to Arsinoe and Ganymede, I've had him arrested," she said and he nodded his head. "The problem is with me arresting him its more than likely that Arsinoe and Ptolemy will find out and know that we're on to them. That month that we might have had, will more than likely turn into a couple of days, weeks at most," she said. "Xena and Ulysses have agreed to stay and help us since they know what things look like, so we need to get planning right away," she said and Dagun nodded his head. "I agree," he said, "we should go to the war chambers and start planning right away, perhaps we can attack them before they attack us."

He said, "that's just what I was thinking," Cleopatra said, "I'll be there after I'm dressed," she said and Dagun bowed his head then turned to leave and Xena and Ulysses followed behind him. Cleopatra went back into her bedroom to get dressed, "information was all you wanted, all you needed at the moment," Athena said and Cleopatra turned and looked at the goddess who was sitting on her bed. "Things change," she said and Athena shook her head as she stood, "you're too rash sometimes Cleopatra, you have to learn how to pace yourself," she said as she walked up to her. "This is not a situation where I can afford to pace myself, I don't have a man on the inside, so I don't know their every move that their planning," she said.

"This is the best way and just as they have the roman, I have Xena and Ulysses, a card that they know nothing about," Cleopatra said then headed to the door. "She's only going to stay to diffuse this one situation Cleopatra, everything else you have to handle on your on," Athena said to her then disappeared before Cleopatra could say anything else. Cleopatra left her chambers and headed to the war chambers, on her way there she had been informed by one of the previous guards that Hotep had been arrested but before they caught him, when he saw the guards coming he knew and he began to run but they had still caught him. Cleopatra nodded and when she got to the war chambers, Dagun had all the maps laid out and Xena and Ulysses were pointing out key things to him.

"Hotep had been arrested but he knew as soon as he saw the guards," Cleopatra said. "We were just going over what things look like and some possible scenario's so when can know when and how to attack," Dagun said and Cleopatra nodded. "Let us continue," she said and they stayed there for a couple of hours discussing the best course of action and when they had at least come up with half of a good plan they called it a night and everyone went back to their rooms. Back in their room, Xena and Ulysses both got ready for bed in silence both had things on their minds. Ulysses was first into bed; Xena turned down the rest of the lanterns and got in the bed as well.

Ulysses was laying on his back staring up at the ceiling and Xena was lying on her side facing Ulysses and she stared out into space for a while before she looked at Ulysses who was still laying there looking up at the ceiling. "Are you mad?" Xena asked and Ulysses looked at her and shook her head, "no, I'm just thinking," he said and Xena nodded. "You weren't the only one who wanted to be selfish earlier," she said and Ulysses grinned as he touched her cheek. "I know, I could see it in your eyes and I also saw that you knew this was the right thing to do and I knew it too but…" he said and Xena nodded. "This is our time and it should be a special time for us and it has been its just not as we pictured it," she said with a grin and Ulysses chuckled at that.

"On the bright side, when we're finished here, we have two weeks at sea before we reach home and so we'll have those two weeks to spend with each other," Ulysses said and Xena smiled and nodded. They laid there and talked for a little longer before they fell asleep. Meanwhile, when Arsinoe and Ganymede got back to the mountain side they spoke with Ptolemy and Pontius, telling them what they found out. "So, he believe that they know where we are and what we are up to?" Pothinus asked, "yea, I've sent some guards to check out the other way up here, to see if it has been disturbed and that'll tell us if we have anything to worry about."

Ganymede said and just as he said that a guard entered the cavern, "my lords I have word from Alexandria," he said as he bowed his head. "What word?" Ptolemy asked, "Cleopatra's head advisor Hotep has just been arrested but for what I do not know," he said and Arsinoe looked at Ganymede. "We must not have been the only ones in the garden," she said then another guard came running into the cavern. "What did you find?" Ganymede asked and the guard looked at him, "the other way up has indeed been disturbed," he said and Ptolemy let out a curse. "Leave us," Pothinus said and the two guards left and he immediately went over to the table and looked at the maps.

"We're going to have to move things up," he said, "we can't attack now, we aren't ready," Ganymede said. "Knowing Cleopatra, she's going to attack first so do you rather we wait here for her, or act before she does?" Pothinus asked, "neither, we should pack up immediately and find another place. That way we won't get caught and we'll still be able to go through with our plan," Arsinoe said, "I agree, attacking now would be foolish, you know we aren't prepared," Ganymede said. "You're both fools, moving now will set us back further and who's to say that Cleopatra won't have them find us again. No, the best thing to do is attack her before she attacks us and we have the Roman, so we will be fine," he said and Arsinoe shook her head and left the cavern.

"Ptolemy you need to think about this, this is too soon, this plan is to rash, we could be falling into a trap for all we know," Ganymede pled with Ptolemy but his pleas were falling on deaf ears. "Pontius is right, we need to act now and its time for us to stop running," he said and Ganymede shook his head. "You're fools and you're going to get yourselves killed, Arsinoe and I will have no part of this," he said then turned and left the cavern. "Good reddens, saves us from having to get rid of them later," Ptolemy said and Pothinus nodded his head. "We need to figure out how we're going to attack," he said, "I'm going to send a message to Pompey and inform him of what's going on," Ptolemy said.

Ganymede walked back to his and Arsinoe's cavern and found Arsinoe sitting in a chair, "they are idiots, we can't stay here Arsinoe," Ganymede said and Arsinoe looked at him. "I know but where are we going to go?" She asked and Ganymede shook his head as he went to go and sit down on the bed. "We can't stay here any longer, we're sitting ducks here," he said and Arsinoe nodded. "What Hotep said earlier, really has me thinking," she said and Ganymede looked at her and she looked at him as she stood and walked over and sat down on the bed next to him. "I'm tired of living life on the run, we have a child to consider now and living life as a co-ruler of Egypt wouldn't be so bad, it would be better than we're living now," she said and he looked at her.

"Arsinoe, you really don't believe that Cleopatra would share leadership with you, do you? She's never going to trust you that much to allow that to happen," he said and they spoke in hushed voices so that no one would over hear them. "We will trade with her, information on Ptolemy and Pothinus for us becoming shall we say her right hand," she said, "there's no way she will refuse us, Cleopatra is about to act and she would love it if she knew what they were up to," Arsinoe said and Ganymede looked at her. "I've led the life that I have wanted to live, my main thing now is what's best for you and our child. If you want to make this deal with Cleopatra then I'm behind, I'm confident that I've taught you well," he said with a grin and she nodded.

"Would you be happy with whatever arrangement was made?" She asked, "as long as we're living good, we're respected and treated as the nobleman that we are, then I will be fine. I'm sure I can find something to occupy my time," he said and Arsinoe looked into his eyes and nodded. "Then we should leave at first light," she said and Ganymede nodded, "then lets get our things together now and I'm going to start making arrangements for us," he said and Arsinoe nodded and began to get their things together while Ganymede left to go and get some things straight.

When morning came Xena and Ulysses had breakfast and headed straight back to the war chambers, where they went back to discussing options with the other war advisors and the General of Cleopatra's navy, Markon. "We can come up both ways and attack them hard, basically surrounding them," Markon said. "That would be great except that since Hotep has been arrested I'm sure Arsinoe and Ptolemy have heard. They probably know by now that we've gotten up there and since they know we didn't go up they way by the guards they're going to be checking the other way up that they think won't get used and they'll find that its been disturbed," Xena said.

"That plan is not going to work, they're going to have guards waiting there," she said, "our men can overwhelm whatever guards they have there," Dagun said and Xena shook her head. "Don't just think about over powering, think about strategy as well because don't forget, they have Pompey who will more than likely be helping them so they can very well over power you as well and he's a Roman so he's probably thinking strategy too." She reminded them, "you acted too quickly Cleopatra, you should have strategize first, now we have no way of knowing what is going on up there, what they're doing, if they're going to run or attack first," Ulysses said and Cleopatra nodded as she looked at him.

"Perhaps but I'm not afforded the luxury of waiting, you need to understand that its killed or be killed, that is the Egyptian way of life, has been for a while. Now I have been trying to change that but I can't very well do that if I'm dead, I had to take action, I had to make the first move." She said, "and now that you have, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place, we know we need to attack quickly but we don't know how to attack. We could have used Hotep for inside information," Ulysses said and Cleopatra looked at him, "that's what you and Xena are here for," she said and he looked at her for a moment and Xena could see his demeanor change.

"Cleopatra, you are the Queen of Egypt and I show you the respect as such so show me the same curtsey," he said then took a step forward as he continued to speak. "Xena and I were here for our honeymoon, not to help you in your current crisis but we did. Then you dug yourself in deeper and now you expect us to dig you out, you've got to be kidding me," he said and Cleopatra walked up to him. "I expect you to do as you've been asked, Prince," she said and to Ulysses she used his title to show him that she was above him but no way would he let her think that and so they began arguing back and forth. "Enough," Xena shouted as she stood between them, she placed her hand on Ulysses' chest and looked into his eyes and he was about to speak when she stopped him.

"Enough," she said, her eyes hard and cold, her body stiff and holding power, they were looking at Athena's chosen and she meant business. "That's right, listen to your wife," Cleopatra said and Xena turned her head and looked at her. "I said enough," she said, "you…" Cleopatra began to say but her words got stuck in her throat as Xena walked up to her and spoke to her in a hushed voice. "Enough," she punctuated each syllable as she looked into Cleopatra's eyes. "Do not disrespect him in that way again, we are here of our own free will and we can damn well leave if we choose and leave you in this shit that you've gotten yourself into."

She said in a hushed voice, "we are not one of your servants, we're helping you because you asked, because you need it not because you want us to." Xena said, "I am Queen…" Cleopatra begun and again Xena stopped her, "that doesn't mean shit to me," Xena said and Cleopatra looked into her eyes where she saw Xena meant every word that she said. "You want to play the title game? Queen of Egypt, Athena's Chosen, I am above you in every way. So unless you want to loose, let's not play this game," Xena said and all Cleopatra could do was swallow a she looked at Xena. "Do you understand me now? You have a problem, we are going to help you with it, without you treating us like we're one of your servants. When we're done, you'll thank us and we're going to leave. Are we clear?" Xena asked and Cleopatra looked into her eyes and nodded, "crystal," she said and Xena nodded then looked over at Ulysses, her eyes said everything and he just nodded.

"Now, lets focus our attention back on the problem at hand, things are not as we would like them but we're going to have to figure them out as best as we can. Now, short from one of their guys running in here telling us their plans, we're going to have to visualize things to the best of our abilities," Xena said and no sooner that she said that, there was a knock on the door. "Enter," Cleopatra said and one of the guards entered, "my Queen, the traitors Arsinoe and Ganymede are here, they are requesting an audience with you," he said and Cleopatra looked at Xena. "Ask and you shall receive," Cleopatra said then looked back at the guard.

"Escort them to the throne room, I'll be there shortly," she said and the guard bowed then left. Cleopatra turned and looked at Xena, "come…" she started to say then stopped. "Will you come with me?" Cleopatra asked and Xena looked at her and nodded then looked at Ulysses, "the rest of you stay here and try to figure out how we're going to attack," Cleopatra said then she left and Xena and Ulysses followed behind her. "Are you sure about this Arsinoe?" Ganymede asked as he looked around the throne room, mostly at the guards who were keeping them company until Cleopatra arrive. "Relax Ganymede," she said as she placed her hand on his arm and he let out a breath and continued to look around until the door opened.

Cleopatra walked in, followed by Xena and Ulysses. "Long time no see Arsinoe," Cleopatra said as she walked up to her sister and Arsinoe held her ground as she looked at her elder sister. "Leave us," Cleopatra said to the guards and once they were all gone they began to talk. "Have you come to turn yourselves in?" Cleopatra asked, "hardly, we have nothing to turn ourselves in for," Ganymede said and Cleopatra looked at him. "Joining Ptolemy and Pothinus, trying to kill me or at least overthrow me," she said. "Oh for goodness sake Cleopatra, I don't want you dead," Arsinoe said and Cleopatra raised an eyebrow at her.

"Could've fooled me," she said, "what do you want?" Xena asked and Arsinoe looked at her then back at Cleopatra. "I'm tired of running, of hiding, planning to overthrow you," Arsinoe said. "So you do admit to that," Cleopatra said and Arsinoe nodded. "In the beginning I only did it because Ptolemy convinced me that you would have me killed so that you could have Egypt all to yourself. Then when you started coming after us with the intent on having us killed, well, I thought why not overthrow you, it was revenge for having you come after us," she said. "What's changed now?" Cleopatra asked and Arsinoe looked at her then placed her hand on her stomach and Cleopatra looked at her.

"Your delicate condition?" Cleopatra asked and Arsinoe looked at her, "yea I know you're pregnant just like I know Ganymede is the father," she said and Arsinoe looked over at Xena and Ulysses. "Just as we suspected, you were spying on us," she said and Xena walked up to her. "You don't want to fight any more, you want a life, a safe and happy life with Ganymede and your baby," Xena said and Arsinoe looked at her and nodded. "Oh please," Cleopatra said, "is that so hard to believe Cleopatra? We want to be happy just like anyone else," she said.

"We propose a trade," Ganymede said, "great information on Ptolemy and Pothinus," he said. "In exchange for?" Ulysses asked, "a place here, your second in command, whatever charges that may be against Ganymede and myself, I want them gone. I want to live life as you live your life now Cleopatra," Arsinoe said. "You are not my equal Arsinoe, therefore you should not live a life equal to mine," Cleopatra said. "I am your sister," Arsinoe yelled to Cleopatra, "had I not left, you and I would be co-rulers," Arsinoe said. "And that's what you want now?" Cleopatra asked, "no, I know that after everything I've done and had apart of, things can not be as they should," Arsinoe said.

"By blood I am your equal but I know by title I am not nor will I ever be," Arsinoe said, "I'm glad you know that," Cleopatra said and was about to walk away when Xena grabbed her arm and Cleopatra turned and looked at her. "Listen to her," Xena said, "why? She has a forked tongue, she spits nothing but lies," Cleopatra said as she turned her head to look at Arsinoe then back at Xena. "Will you let go of me?" Cleopatra asked and Xena looked at her then let her go, "let me speak to you privately," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded and they walked over to a nearby corner which was far enough away that they couldn't be heard.

"What?" Cleopatra asked, "before you act stop and think about the situation for a minute," Xena said. "You don't know her but I do and this is some kind of trick," she said and Xena shook her head. "They came in here, risking their freedom, the life of their child, I don't think this is a trick. Perhaps you don't know it Cleopatra because you don't yet have one but a family is enough to make you change everything and anything. Arsinoe has already admitted why she went against you in the first place, now she's here and trying to set things right," Xena said. "Yea and for a price," Cleopatra said, "she would be dumb not to ask for anything and she has valuable information that we can't afford to pass up," Xena said.

"You can always keep an eye on them Cleopatra until you one day trust them," Xena said and Cleopatra stood there and thought about it then walked back over to them, with Xena behind her. "Lets get one thing clear Arsinoe, I was never going to have you killed after Ptolemy betrayed me as you said, you would have probably become the next co-ruler but the past is the past and it can not be changed. You can live here in the palace, you will be my second in command, Ganymede I'm sure you'll find something you would like to have a hand in and just talk to me about it and I'll see what I can do," she said and he nodded. "You will have all the luxuries that I have, all of your past crimes will be as if they never happened but make no mistake, if you're lying to me or if you betray me ever again you will be punished in the harshest way possible," she said and Arsinoe looked at her and nodded.

"Thank you," she said, "don't thank me yet, the information you have I need and I need it now," Cleopatra said and Arsinoe nodded. "Very well," she said then turned her head and looked at Ganymede who walked forward. "We had no idea that you had found us until yesterday when our contact on the inside was arrested. We had both ways up there checked and found the way you came up, as soon as Ptolemy and Pothinus realized you knew where we were they began to plan an attack. Arsinoe and myself thought it better to run but they wouldn't hear of it and they believe because they are allied with Pompey that they can beat you. They plan to attack in the next couple of days but I don't know when, we left early this morning," he said.

"What else do you have? What are their numbers? What sort of weapons do they have? What kind of attack can we expect?" Ulysses asked and Ganymede let out a breath and began telling them everything he could think of. Once they had everything that they needed Xena and Ulysses headed back to the war chambers to inform the others of what they had found out. Cleopatra stayed behind to get things with Arsinoe and Ganymede settled. The day passed by quicker than they anticipated and abut three hours after dinner Xena, Ulysses, Dagun, Markon and all the rest of the war advisors had come up with a great plan from all the information that Ganymede gave them and they were going to attack tomorrow at sun down.

Cleopatra showed Arsinoe and Ganymede to their new chambers, which were about as extravagant as her own. "I didn't have these kind of rooms when I lived here," Arsinoe said as she looked around and Cleopatra stood there with her arms crossed, watching her. "I'm a woman of my word," Cleopatra said and Arsinoe nodded then looked at her sister. "Will you ever trust me again?" Arsinoe asked and Cleopatra looked at her, "will you ever give me reason to?" She shot back, "I just did," she said, "no, what you just did was secure a life for you, Ganymede and your child. You didn't come to me and tell me what you did out of the goodness of your heart, you came to me because you saw the walls closing in and you knew you had to act fast."

Cleopatra said, "what do you want from me Cleopatra?" Arsinoe asked as she shook her head, "the truth, I accepted your terms because I needed the information that you had, I don't for a minute believe you," Cleopatra said and Arsinoe looked into her eyes and nodded then walked up to Cleopatra, took her hand and placed it on the bulge that was her stomach. "I carry a life inside me, I can no longer be concerned with my own wants and needs," Arsinoe said and Cleopatra looked into her eyes as she continued to talk. "You want the truth, the truth is, we were allied with Ptolemy but we couldn't stand him, we were going to help him overthrow you, bargain for your life and when it was all done we were going to have him and Pothinus killed."

She said and Cleopatra looked at her and shook her head, "they Egyptian way, killed before I get killed and I was fully aware that Ptolemy had no intention of sharing power with me." She said then let out a breath as she went and sat down on the sofa, "I was a fool for trusting him in the beginning, I don't think I ever really did, that's why I asked Ganymede to come with me," she said. "Your lover," Cleopatra said and Arsinoe looked up at her, "we weren't always lovers, he was my mentor and the only one that I believed cared for me," she said then let out a breath as she ran her fingers through her hair. "We became lovers a while after I left, a couple years later we were married, I became pregnant and our plans to come back to the palace were becoming realistic," she said.

"Things were going good until you invited Xena and Ulysses here and asked for their help," she said, "that and Ptolemy's alliance with Pompey," she said. "Sorry to have ruined your plans," Cleopatra said and Arsinoe looked at her and hunched her shoulders. "You don't understand Cleopatra, I'm extremely happy with the way things turned out, this is all I've ever wanted, I just regret the process I had to go through to get it," she said and Cleopatra shook her head then walked over to Arsinoe and sat down next to her. "I don't know if I can ever truly trust you again but the Egyptian way needs to end here, I never sought to be the supreme ruler of Egypt, you and Ptolemy made it so and now that I am the sole ruler of Egypt I have to take care of it as I see fit."

She said then let out a breath, "I don't believe things can ever go back to the way they were, Egypt has one ruler now and will continue to have one rule that will never change but if your intentions are true then you can help me rule through other ways," she said as she looked into Arsinoe's eyes where she saw that her intentions were true, at least for the moment. Cleopatra stood and walked to the door, "but as I said before, betray me again and it'll be the last thing you do," she said then walked out of the door. Cleopatra had a lot on her mind and she was heading to the dinning hall when she ran into Xena, "how did things go with Arsinoe?"

Xena asked and Cleopatra let out a breath, "well, I got her everything she wanted with ease," she said and Xena nodded. "How are the plans going?" Cleopatra asked Xena, "the information that Ganymede gave us was very helpful, we came up with a plan and we attack tomorrow at sun down," she said and Cleopatra nodded. "I'm not even hungry," Cleopatra said as she turned at the corner of the hall and went to her room, leaving the door open as an invitation to Xena to follow which she did. Cleopatra went and poured herself a glass of wine then sat down on the sofa and Xena stood there and looked at her.

"You alright?" She asked and Cleopatra nodded her head as she looked at the glass that held her wine, "I will be," she said and Xena nodded then turned to leave when Cleopatra stopped her. "No one has ever talked to me before like you talked to me earlier, I don't know if I appreciate that," Cleopatra said and Xena turned and looked at her. "No more than I appreciated you disrespecting my husband," Xena said and Cleopatra sat the glass down as she stood. "I had to put him in his place, let him know that I did what I had to do and I wasn't going to be reprimanded by him like I was some child," she said as she walked over to Xena. "And I had to put you in your place, so you were reprimanded like a child because you acted as one," Xena said and Cleopatra looked at her then raised her hand to slap Xena but her hand was stopped mid way.

"You're a great woman Cleopatra, a great ruler, so act it," Xena said and they stared into each other's eyes and then Cleopatra did something that surprised Xena a great deal. She leaned in and kissed her passionately and what surprised Xena even more was that she responded to the kiss. It took her brain a moment to register what she was doing and when she realized she abruptly ended the kiss and backed away. "What are you doing?" Xena asked and Cleopatra looked at her, "to be honest with you I don't quite know, I just had this urge to kiss you and when I did…" Cleopatra said then grinned as she shook her head, "it felt good," she said and Xena just looked at her for a moment more.

"I have to go," Xena said as she quickly left the room and Cleopatra shook her head as she walked back over to the sofa and sat down. "Why did I do that?" She asked herself then shook her head as she sipped on the wine, _'yet another thing to think about'_ she thought to herself. Xena continuously shook her head as she headed back to her room, she didn't see Ulysses when she got there and she was grateful for that as she sat down on the bed and replayed that moment over and over in her head when Cleopatra kissed her, she never even saw it coming. "Hey," Ulysses said as he walked out of the bath chamber and Xena looked at him, "what are you doing here?"

She asked and he looked at her as he placed the towel that was on his shoulder on a nearby chair. "I stay here, I was getting cleaned up for dinner. What's with you?" He asked and Xena shook her head, "nothing, I just have something on my mind," she said and Ulysses nodded and got on the bed and behind Xena, he moved her hair to the side and placed a kiss on her neck. "Well maybe I can help take whatever's on your mind off," he said as he placed kiss after kiss on her neck and Xena just sat there. "Cleopatra kissed me," she blurted out and Ulysses froze in place, "come again," he said and she turned and looked at him. "I said Cleopatra kissed me," she said and Ulysses looked at her.

"What did you do?" He asked, "what do you think I did?" She asked him as she stood and walked a couple of feet a way. "I was stunned that she was kissing me and when I realized what was happening I pushed her away and left," Xena said and Ulysses nodded. "Okay," Ulysses said, "I didn't even see it coming," Xena said as she shook her head. "Well what happened?" Ulysses asked as he got off the bed and walked over to Xena, "I met her in the hall as I was headed back here, I asked her how things went with Arsinoe then told her about the plans we had made. She was going to get something to eat but decided she wasn't hungry, she went back to her room, I followed her to make sure she was alright, I was leaving when she told me she didn't appreciate the way I talked to her earlier.

I told her I didn't appreciate the way she disrespected you, she said she was putting you in your place and I told her I was putting her in hers. Then she tried to slap me, I told her she was a great woman, a great ruler and that she should act like it. The next thing I know she was kissing me," Xena said then spun around and looked at Ulysses after she recapped what happened. "Explain what happened, to me," Xena said and Ulysses shook his head, "maybe the way you took charge of her, the way you spoke to her earlier, turned her on. I can imagine that no one has spoken to her that way for quite some time," Ulysses said and Xena shook her head.

"How could I not see this coming?" Xena asked and Ulysses grinned as he took her hands in his. "You've never been with a woman before Xena so how could you recognize the signs?" Ulysses asked and before Xena could say anything he leaned in and kissed her passionately, when the kiss ended Xena grinned as she looked at Ulysses. "Well thank goodness I've been with a man before otherwise I wouldn't recognize the signs you're putting out," she said and Ulysses smiled at her then leaned back in and kissed her softly. "How did you feel when she kissed you?" Ulysses asked and Xena hunched her shoulders, "mostly surprised I guess.

I mean, I've kissed Aphrodite before but I was just playing the game, it was on my own terms, Cleopatra just really surprised me but I guess it felt nice," Xena said. Ulysses nodded then leaned forward and began tasting Xena's lips and Xena moaned as she tasted Ulysses' lips in return. "Is this tease going somewhere?" Xena asked after the kiss ended and Ulysses just nuzzled her face, "where do you want it to go?" He asked then moaned as Xena kissed him passionately and as they kissed she began walking him backwards to the bed. When the back of his legs hit the bed the kiss didn't lessen, Xena just began undoing his shirt and he began undressing her in whatever way possible.

She pulled his shirt off then pushed him down on the bed and he grinned at Xena and looked at him as she took her shirt off then her pants and got into the bed, her body over Ulysses' and that was all she wrote. An hour later a sweaty Ulysses fell face first onto the bed, "wow," he mumbled into the sheets and Xena grinned as she lay on her back with the sheet wrapped around her body. "Yea, it's been a while," Xena said and Ulysses smiled at her, "that's why I love you, it's only been what, a day or two," Ulysses asked. "What can I say? When its good I like it constantly," Xena said and Ulysses chuckled at that, "oh sweetheart it's more than good, it's great, it's out of this world," Ulysses said then rose up and leaned over and kissed Xena.

"So what are you going to do about Cleopatra?" Ulysses asked as he ran his hand over Xena's thigh and she shook her head. "Nothing, I'm going to try and forget that it happened and maybe she'll do the same," Xena said. "We only have a couple more days here, two more days to be precise," she said as she ran her finger over Ulysses' jaw. "This is not the honeymoon either of us pictured but it was still great," Xena said and Ulysses smiled at her. "That it was," he said and then they shared a kiss. As they were kissing there was a knock at the door and they both groaned, "I'll go see who it is," Xena said then kissed Ulysses softly once more before she got out of the bed, grabbed her robe and slipped it on before she went to answer the door.

When she opened the door she was surprised to see Cleopatra on the other side. "Can I talk to you?" She asked and Xena looked at her, "I don't know if that's such a good idea," Xena said. "Please Xena, I want to explain what happened earlier," she said and Xena looked at her then allowed her to come into the room. Xena closed the door behind her then walked over to Cleopatra, "who was at the…" Ulysses began as he walked into the room with just his pants on. When he saw Cleopatra he grinned as he walked over to her, "have you come over for another kiss?" Ulysses asked and Xena slapped him on his chest and Cleopatra looked down for a moment. "Hey I don't blame you, she's a gorgeous woman and a great kisser," he said and just as those words fell out of his mouth he leaned over and kissed Xena passionately.

Cleopatra couldn't help but watched as they kissed and in the back of her mind she realized she wanted to be the one kissing Xena, holding her like that. When the kiss ended Xena grinned at Ulysses as she caressed his cheek, "you are impossible sometimes," she told him and he smiled at her then looked at Cleopatra who was looking down but he knew she had been watching them. "So did you come back for another kiss because if you did I would like to watch," he said and Xena slapped him again, "would you wait in the room?" She told him and Ulysses hunched his shoulders as he leaned in and whispered to Xena. "You're curious I know, so explore it if you want," he said then placed a kiss on her shoulder before he headed back into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

"So, explain to me why you kissed me earlier," Xena said to Cleopatra who shook her head as she looked at Xena. "I've been thinking about it and…" she said then let out a breath. "I desire you, you treat me like any other person and I guess that appeals to me. You're beautiful, talented, I don't know but it turned me on the way you talked to me earlier," she said. "Ulysses was right," Xena mumbled to herself then rubbed her forehead as she thought. "Can you say that you've never thought of me in the same way?" She asked and Xena looked at her, "I'm on my honeymoon, the only person that I'm thinking about in that way is Ulysses. I…" Xena said then threw up her hands because she didn't have a clue as to what to say.

"So you've never been with a woman before?" Cleopatra asked and Xena looked at her, "no, the closest I've gotten to being with a woman is kissing Aphrodite and that was just for show." Xena said and Cleopatra nodded as she walked up to Xena, "when I kissed you, how did you feel?" she asked and Xena hunched her shoulders, "surprised mostly but all in all I guess I thought it was nice," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded. As Xena looked at Cleopatra she could see the want and desire in her eyes and in her body from the way she moved and spoke. Xena didn't know why she did it but she walked up the rest of the way to Cleopatra, placed her hands on her face and kissed her deeply and passionately.

"Mmmm," Cleopatra moaned as she returned the kiss and Xena found herself enjoying this new experience, still, she was mostly doing this because Cleopatra wanted it and she wanted to explore this new found power and also because Ulysses was right, she was curious. When the kiss ended Xena brushed her lips against Cleopatra's, "what are you doing?" Cleopatra asked, "isn't this what you came here for?" Xena asked, "no," Cleopatra said then moaned once more when Xena kissed her softly. "Yes," she said when the kiss ended and Xena rewarded her honesty with a very passionate kiss that stole Cleopatra's breath away.

"I…I want you," Cleopatra said in a breathless voice and Xena grinned as she shook her head then backed up some. "A kiss is as far as it will ever go," Xena said. "Why?" She asked, "why not?" Xena asked, "I have no intentions of breaking vows I just made," Xena said. "Ulysses will be fine with it if we invite him to join us," Cleopatra said and Xena shook her head. "I won't deny that you're a beautiful woman, a great woman but I'm just not interest right now," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded. "And I'm in love with Ulysses, I want no one else but Ulysses," Xena said, "I can make you feel what he makes you feel," she said and Xena shook her head.

"No you can't, on a physical level, maybe, but anything more than that you can't even begin to make me feel. He is my other half and I love him with all that I am as I know he loves me," Xena said and Cleopatra looked into her eyes and could see the immense love that Xena had for Ulysses. "That's understandable," Cleopatra said then turned and walked over to the door. "This has never happened," she said as she turned and looked at Xena who nodded her head, "it never happened," she said and watched as Cleopatra left the room. Xena let out a breath and went back into the bedroom, Ulysses looked at her as he lay on the bed. "Did you satisfy your curiosity?" He asked and Xena let out a breath as she got into the bed and crawled towards Ulysses, "I did," she said then leaned in and kissed him, caressing his chest as she did so.

"And?" Ulysses asked when the kiss ended, "And the only person I want or will ever want is you, just you," she said and Ulysses looked into her eyes and nodded before he kissed her softly. Xena let out a breath and laid down next to Ulysses, her head on his chest and they just laid there in silence. Later on they had dinner, spent some time with each other before they went to sleep. When morning came they were up bright and early along with Cleopatra, Markon and Dagun as they went over the plan once more and began to get ready.

Meanwhile at the mountain Ptolemy and the others were preparing for a battle as well. "Make sure the men are in top shape, we attack at sun down," Ptolemy told a soldier who bowed his head then turned and left. "Is Pompey ready?" Ptolemy asked Pothinus who nodded his head as he looked down at the map, "he's in place, he'll attack the palace from the east and west and we'll attack head on. Some of the men will stay here as reserves just in case things go wrong," Pothinus said and Ptolemy. "We will be inside the place come sunrise," he said with a grin on his face. "Arsinoe and Ganymede will be sorry that they left, the fools," Ptolemy said then looked at Pothinus.

"Are you going to stare at those maps all day?" Ptolemy asked and Pothinus looked at him, "I want to make sure we have things covered from all angles, I don't want there to be any surprises," he said. "Pothinus will you relax, things are going to go just fine and just in case they don't I have an escape plan," Ptolemy said and Pothinus looked at him. "Planning battles is your thing and planning escapes is mine," he said as he held up a parchment with a sketch of a map on it. Pothinus walked over and took the parchment and looked down at the map and thought those plans were pretty good. There was escape for their men but for them and Pothinus was more than fine with that.

"This is pretty good, keep it on hand, we might just need it," he said and Ptolemy nodded and placed it back in his belt where he had pulled it from. Back at the palace, Xena was outside looking at Cleopatra's navy as they prepared and she let out a breath then slightly looked to her left when she felt a presence. "Information, that's all you said I would be doing," Xena said and Athena walked up to her side and stood next to Xena as she too looked out at the men. "That's what I had planned but as you can see, Cleopatra is somewhat unpredictable," the goddess said and Xena looked at her. "Rash is more like it," Xena said and Athena nodded, "she can be but not always, she usually looks at things with a clear head, its just that this has been going on for some time and I suspect she's more than ready for it to end now."

Athena said and Xena nodded, "can't blame her for that," Xena said then let out a breath as she looked up at the sun judging from its position that they had a half a day left before they had to go. "I need two dozen archers," Xena said as she turned and looked at Athena who nodded her head, "you'll have them when you're ready to go," she said and Xena nodded then turned and began heading back to the palace. "I'm sorry about your honeymoon," Athena said as Xena walked away, "don't be, I'll get you to repay me in some way or another," Xena said and Athena grinned before she disappeared and Xena went back to the palace. She and Ulysses went to the dinning hall to get a little something to eat and then they did some light sparring to basically warm themselves up for the bigger battle.

Once they were done they met Cleopatra and the others in the war chambers to go over the plan once more. "We're going to come up the mountain both ways, now this way is heavily guarded," Xena said as she pointed to the area that held the bridge and the guards. "But I'll have archers up here," she said as she pointed to various spots on top of the mountain, "and they'll silently take the guards out and then we get into the caverns. "We'll have wagons close by to load the weapons that they have," she said. "Now we know that they plan on attacking soon, so I'll stay here, the palace will be heavily guarded. Our main concern is not knowing where the Romans come in, so, twenty to thirty men will be hidden in four spots all around the palace," Ulysses said as he pointed to four remote spots outside of the palace, where they would be hidden.

"I'll command the men at east and west, Dagun you have the men to the north and Markon you have the men to the south." Ulysses said. "With any luck will have them all in custody by the time the sun rises," Cleopatra finished. "So, is everyone clear on what they are supposed to be doing?" Xena asked as she looked at them all and they nodded, "alright, then lets get ready to go," she said and they all left the chambers and went their separate ways. The day was passing by very quickly and before they knew it, it was almost sun down. Xena and Ulysses walked to the front of the palace where the men Xena would be taking were waiting on their horses as well as the elite archers that she asked Athena for.

"You be safe," Ulysses told Xena who grinned at him as she looked into his eyes. "Aren't I always? I should be telling you that," she said and Ulysses grinned at her. "Come back to me safe and unharmed," he said as he picked up her hand then placed a kiss on the back of it. "You do the same," Xena said as she caressed Ulysses' cheek then leaned in and kissed him softly. When the kiss ended she looked at him once more before she turned and made her way down the stairs and over to what would be her horse. With nothing more left to do Xena began to ride away and followed by the archers and then the rest of the soldiers. Ulysses let out a breath then looked down at Gemini who looked up at him, "I guess it's just you and me," he told the wolf then turned and headed back into the palace.

Once he was in the palace he made his way to the back of the palace and went out that way and went to check on the men that were in hiding and he would stay with them to make sure things were quiet and stayed quiet. Xena and her men rode hard and fast up to the mountain, when they were almost there they got off of the horses and pulled them over to the side so that they couldn't be found. She took one wave of men and they hid in the bushes by the way she and Ulysses had came up, Xena counted with her eyes and could see twenty men at the most patrolling that area. She looked at the man to her right which would be her sergeant at the moment and made hand signals to him telling him which way to go. She then looked back at the head of the archers and held up two fingers then pointed towards the guards.

She waited until the others were in place then nodded towards the sergeant and she nodded towards the archers and they fired arrows quick and hit their mark. Only two archers fired and they were deadly with their arrows and their accuracy, they took down four men and then the other soldiers that were in place began to attack as did Xena. They took down the rest of the men with swiftness and without a sound. Their bodies were dragged off to the side as to not be in the way when they attacked and also so that no one would be let on. "Barage, go up to the place that I told you and wait for the signal to attack," Xena told the sergeant and he nodded and placed four of his men at the base of the mountain as look outs before he and the rest went quickly up the mountain.

"Elainis, you know what to do," Xena told the head archer who nodded her head and she and the rest of the archers went up to the mountain to their positions with a swiftness that came from their training. Xena and the rest of the men went up the other way that held the bridge which was heavily guarded. There were men at the base of the bridge, some hidden and some weren't, there were also soldiers on the bridge and on the other side. Xena and her men moved quietly but quickly and took out the men at the base of the bridge then stayed hidden as she waited for the archers to get into place. When she looked up at the mountain she could see the archers and when she saw they were ready she began to move.

The archers shot the men on the bridge and they fell over, Xena and her men were running across the bridge as the soldiers fell with arrows in their chest. The rest of the guards that were on the other side of the bridge were dealt with in a matter of minutes and they began making their way up to the caverns. Once they were up there Xena made a signal to Elainis who shot an arrow towards Barage and his men to let him know it was time to attack. When Barage saw the arrow he signaled his men to move in and Xena and her men began to do the same. The archers stood at different points on the mountain and when they saw Xena and the others begin to attack they started attacking as well, so the battle was on.

Back at the palace Ulysses and the others were still in place and there were no signs of any attack, not from their end anyway. "Things are really quiet," one of the men said and Ulysses nodded as he looked around, "too quiet," he said and just as he said that there was a loud bang coming from the south. "No one move, we stay here," Ulysses told them and the men were anxious to go and help but them staying where they were was crucial to their plans. Ulysses heard another loud bang and just when he did arrows started flying their way, some hitting their targets and others just hitting trees or the ground.

"Take cover," Ulysses yelled and the men hid behind whatever they could, some holding up their shields and others not acting fast enough. When the arrows stopped coming Ulysses ordered the men to attack but not to go in straight forward but from the side, so that they would be less likely to get killed or injured from another volume of arrows, especially since they didn't know exactly where they were coming from. When Ulysses came in contact with his first soldier they were the Romans just as he had figured but what he hadn't counted on was them being attack at all four places at one time. Ulysses took no time in cutting down anyone who got in his way and when he saw that their spot was secured he took some men and went to go and help the others.

It was a good thing that he and the others got there when they did because Markon and his men were being bombarded by Romans, there were many bodies on the ground already, Egyptians and Romans alike. "Ulysses don't worry about us we've got this but Dagun needs help, their attacking the front of the palace head on, Romans and Ptolemy's men," Markon yelled and Ulysses nodded as he picked up another sword so that he now had two and he ran them through two men that thought they were sneaking up on him. Ulysses fought there for a while longer until he could see that they would indeed be alright and then he headed to the North which was the front of the palace, Gemini hot on his heels and if the enemy tried to stop him he ran them through with ease.

"Things don't sound as if they're going too well," Arsinoe said as she, Ganymede and Cleopatra sat in the throne room with guards surrounding them. "I should go and help them," Ganymede said, "Ganymede," Arsinoe said with fear in her voice. "I'll be fine Arsinoe but I should go and help them, they could really use my help," he said then turned and looked at Cleopatra, "if that's okay with you," he said to Cleopatra who looked at him and nodded her head. "Be careful," she told him as he walked towards the door and he nodded his head then left. "This is all so stupid and I never realized how much until recently, we're all fighting over who rules Egypt and none of this is for the good of Egypt," Arsinoe said as she got up and began to pace and Cleopatra listened to her then continued to listen to the sounds of the battle outside while Arsinoe's words rung loudly in her head over and over again.

Back on the mountain, things were going pretty good, they were taking each cavern at a time, kind of like ants going after a piece of food. Since many of Ptolemy's men were outsiders they fought to the death so as the mountain was being taken over there wouldn't be many captives. When the last cavern was finally taken and all of the men were dead Xena looked around for Ptolemy and Pothinus but didn't find them. "Begin loading the wagons," Xena told one soldier who ran off to do just as she had said. Xena went down to what was Pothinus' part of the cavern and began looking through his things when she heard a loud bang, much like the one Ulysses had heard.

"My lady they have catapults loaded with burning hey," the second in command shouted and Xena let out a curse as she tried to find a way out of the cavern and down to where all the fighting was going on. She had to admit that they hadn't thought about the Romans keeping guard of the mountain and it wasn't a few Romans it was a lot so either Ganymede was lying about the number of Romans or he didn't know, which ever one Xena couldn't think about at the moment. Xena looked around for any way out and all she could see was a near by tree 'well, my training is definitely about to come into use' she thought to herself as she backed up a couple of feet.

She let out a breath then broke into a dead run and when she was out of the cavern and in mid air she did an aerial flip and grabbed on onto the limb of a nearby tree. She let out a breath of relief when she landed safely then she prepared herself for her next trick, a flip from the tree to the ground and she had to admit to herself that it was a lot easier than flying into the air. The moment she landed she was surrounded by Romans, "Xena, I presume?" Pompey asked as he stepped into the crowd and Xena looked at him. "Let me guess, Pompey," she said and he nodded his head. "Surrender now and I won't kill you," he said and Xena grinned as she flipped her sword in her hand.

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing," she said and without any other word she attacked and they fought back but they were no match for her. When they were all on the ground either dead or unconscious she was now face to face with Pompey and even though she heard the sounds of a very serious and what could turn out to be very deadly battle going on around her she had to deal with Pompey first before she could deal with anything else, she couldn't very well help the others if she were dead. "I hear you're Minerva's Chosen," he said as they circled each other, "I hear you're an ass, so what's new," she said and he grinned at her then attacked her.

Xena blocked his every move and added in some of her own, she kicked him in the stomach then punched him in the face. Pompey looked at her as he wiped blood from his lip and he attacked again harder than before and a little better but still he was going to have to do better. Xena kicked him hard in the stomach again and backhanded him so hard he fell back on the ground, she was going to try and knock him unconscious, not for the kill, she didn't kill if she didn't have to, most of the men she went up against today she just injured badly.

However, three soldiers surrounded her and although she dealt with them rather quickly it gave their leader a chance to get back up which he did. Pompey swung at Xena almost grazing her arm and she grinned a dangerous grin at him before she attacked, he was now finding it hard to defend himself against her hard and fast strokes. It was amazing and maddening to Pompey that this woman, this Greek woman was beating him in a fight and he was one of the best. Of course he was holding his own but he could plainly see that her skill was greater than his so his main concern now was getting out of this alive. He came at Xena hard and fast getting in a few blows of his own, he even managed to disarm her in the process and when he did he kicked her in the stomach.

When she came back up she did a round house kick which sent him a few feet away. Pompey took that moment to run for it and Xena picked up her sword and was going to go after him but she found herself surrounded by Romans again and she was forced to forget about Pompey and began fighting again and the fighting was gruesome and far from easy. Some of the Romans left when they saw their leader fled but most of the others stayed and that was mostly because of orders Pompey had given them, they were a distraction for his escape.

Back at the palace, things were pretty bad as well, the Romans were giving them a run for their money. When Ganymede walked into the battle he walked into a mess and somewhat of a blood bath. The number of Romans and outsiders were great and they fought well, some would say recklessly since they didn't have much regard for their own life when they fought. "What are you doing here?" Ulysses asked Ganymede as they ran into each other, "I came to help and from the looks of it you need it," he said and their conversation was cut short as they were attacked and they fought them off.

"They're trying to get into the palace, its best if you help over there," Ulysses told Ganymede who nodded as he pushed a guy off of his sword. He ran back over to the front of the palace and helped the guards there while Ulysses continued to fight off the others, trying to get things settled there before he went back to the palace. The men were dispatched quickly and Ulysses and the others went over to the palace and dealt with those men, the battle was far from easy and quick as they thought it would be but two hours before sunrise it was finally done but there was a lot of damage since they had catapults.

"What are the damages?" Ulysses asked Ganymede as he began walking down a hall on his way to the dinning hall to tell Cleopatra the news. "We lost a lot of men but losses were very heavy for the other side," he said and Ulysses nodded. "What's the news Ulysses?" Cleopatra asked as soon as he and Ganymede walked through the door, "we're secured on this end, a lot of lives were lost on our side though, I expected the Romans but not those numbers," he said and Ganymede nodded his head as pulled back from his hug with Arsinoe. "Those numbers were surprising I guess Pompey brought more men than we were expecting or that I was told about," he said.

"I suppose they trusted us about as much as we trusted them," Arsinoe said as she leaned into Ganymede. "During the battle Ulysses, I got a message that said things weren't looking so good up at the mountain," Cleopatra said and Ulysses looked at her. "What do you mean?" He asked, "they had some reserves of Romans up there, Pompey himself was there and they attacked hard," Cleopatra said and Ulysses' heart beat began to speed up. "How long ago was that?" He asked and she looked at him then looked down, "how long?" He asked in a raised voice, "almost two hours ago," she said and Ulysses let out a breath as he walked away.

"You're hurt, I should have…" Cleopatra began as she noticed the slash on Ulysses' arm, "its nothing," he said then paced for a while before he sat down in a chair and run his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I'm sure she's alright," Cleopatra said, knowing that Ulysses was thinking about Xena wondering and hoping that she was alright. A half an hour passed by, Cleopatra was busy with reports that were coming at her left and right about the damages, injured and the lives lost. "My Queen the men from the mountain have returned and they have a lot of injured," a messenger ran to tell Cleopatra and Ulysses jumped up when he heard that.

"Where are they?" Cleopatra asked, "the main hall, a few healers are seeing to them," the messenger said and Cleopatra nodded then looked at Ulysses who walked quickly pass her and she followed behind him. Ulysses was walking so fast he practically ran to the main hall and when he and Cleopatra arrived, there were injured men all over, so were lying down, others were standing and some were sitting against the wall. He looked among the men for Xena and when he spotted her she was standing there with an injured man leaning on her. Xena looked up when she felt a piercing stare and when she saw it was Ulysses she nodded to one of the other men that wasn't hurt, to help the man that she was helping.

Once he was taken care of she began walking towards Ulysses and he to her, when they reached each other they just looked into each other's eyes. "Are you hurt?" Ulysses asked and Xena shook her head and was about to ask Ulysses the same question when he walked up to her and kissed her softly but passionately and Xena returned the kiss. It was a kiss between two lovers, one that said I'm glad that you're okay as well as a kiss that was alleviating their fears. When the kiss ended they rested their foreheads against each other and just relished the fact that they were both okay, that they both made it out of this battle. "I'm glad to see that you're okay," Cleopatra said and Xena rose her head and looked at the Egyptian Queen.

"The mountain is secured, I left some men up there to make sure that it stayed that way or to inform us of anything," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded. "Thank you for everything, I am forever in your debt," Cleopatra said and Xena gave her a small grin as she shook her head. "Think nothing of it," she said then looked at Ulysses and she noticed the cut on his arm, "you're hurt," she said and he looked at his arm then back at Xena. "It's nothing," he said, "I'll be the judge of that," Xena said as she lead Ulysses over to a near by healer just to get some of his supplies before she took care of Ulysses' arm herself.

She cleaned his arm then looked at the wound, "this is going to need stitches," she told him and he nodded and watched Xena as she began to thread the needle. "When I heard the Romans were up there, I was really worried," he said and Xena looked at him then began to stitch up his wound. "Scared shitless actually," he said and Xena looked up at him, "I can take care of myself," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he turned his head and looked at her. "I know but, just the thought of losing you," he said and Xena cut him off before he could continue. "Then don't think about it," she said and Ulysses let out a breath, "I'm alright Ulysses and I can understand why you were scared and worried and to be honest with you I was a little of both as well but I was trained for this kind of thing."

She said as she continued to stitch up his wound, when she was finished she cut the thread then placed a slave on the wound to help keep out infection as well as to help it heal. "To tell you the truth I was more worried about you, the Romans that we captured were bragging about how they were slaughtering you guys over here, all I could think of was getting back here, to you," Xena said as she began to wrap a bandage around Ulysses' upper arm. He was about to say something when they were interrupted by Cleopatra's presence, "is there something wrong?" Ulysses asked because by the look on her face there was something wrong.

"There are so many injured that my healers can't keep up with it all," she said as she looked around and Xena tied off Ulysses' bandage then stood and looked around. "Things are just a bit unorganized that's all and you could use a few extra pair of hands," Xena said. "I'll help the healers," Xena said and Cleopatra looked at her, "you know something about healing?" She asked and Xena grinned at her, "fighting is not the only thing I know how to do," she said then winked at Cleopatra who grinned at her. "Are you afraid to get your hands dirty?" Xena asked the Queen who shook her head, "what do you have in mind?"

She asked and Xena nodded her head, "find Arsinoe, get some blankets and tear them into strips, also have some water boiling to clean some of these other bandages." Xena said to Cleopatra, instructing her on what to do, "I'll get on it right away," she said then turned and left and Xena looked at Ulysses, "find Ganymede and anyone else who is able to help move some of these guys around. The seriously injured over there," she said, pointing to the far left corner. "The minor injuries over there, those who aren't going to make it over here," she said pointing to the left corner and then the far right corner. "And the dead over there," she said, pointing to the last corner and Ulysses nodded and went to do as his wife had instructed.

Xena walked over to the man that seemed to be the head healer and stooped down next to him, "where do you need help the most?" She asked and he looked at her for a moment wondering to himself what could she possibly know about healing and then he thought it couldn't hurt to let her help, especially since he could use the extra hands. "Mainly over here, I'm trying to keep things organized but it's not turning out so well," he said. "Don't worry about it, it's being taken care of, I'm here to give you a hand," she said and he nodded. "It is greatly appreciated," he said and Xena nodded then went about treating the seriously injured and Ulysses and Ganymede saw to the organizational as well as anything else that was needed and surprisingly enough Cleopatra and Arsinoe were doing what Xena had asked and more.

A couple of hours after sunrise were when things began to settle down. Everyone was basically seen to so that allowed for the others to go and get some rest. "You were amazing out there," Cleopatra told Xena as she washed her hands of blood for what seemed like the hundredth time. "So were you, I can tell you really care about your people and you're not afraid to get your hands dirty," she told Cleopatra who grinned at her. "As I said before, you're a great woman and a great ruler," Xena said with a grin and a wink causing Cleopatra to grin. "Why don't you go and get some rest, I know this is your last day here so you won't be bothered, I'll have all of your meals sent to your room," she said and Xena nodded her head then looked at Ulysses who walked over to her.

"You look like you're ready to drop," Xena said to him as she caressed his cheek and he nodded his head, "as are you," he said then looked at Cleopatra. "I trust you don't have any more problems for us to deal with," he said and she grinned at him. "No, at the moment I don't," she said and he nodded then looked at Xena, "for the moment," he said with his mouth and Xena smiled at him as did Cleopatra. "Thank you for your help Ulysses, it was greatly appreciated," Cleopatra said and Ulysses nodded. "You're welcome but the next time you need our help try not to wait until we're on vacation," he said and Cleopatra smiled as she nodded.

"Will do," she said then watched as they left the hall. She let out a breath as she looked around then decided to head to her own chambers to get some much needed rest. "My lady," Dagun said as he walked down the hall and towards Cleopatra, "Dagun, any word on Ptolemy and Pothinus?" She asked as she headed to her chambers, "no my lady, it's mostly likely when they saw that things weren't going their way they ran," he said and Cleopatra nodded. "Ptolemy was always good on escaping," she said and Dagun nodded his head. "What of the Roman?" She asked, "Pompey fled before the sun came up," Dagun said and Cleopatra let out a breath.

"Well at least their plans have been foiled for the moment," she said and Dagun nodded his head and Cleopatra stopped and looked at him. "You've done great, go and get some rest," she said and he nodded. "As soon as I check on the men once more my lady," he said and Cleopatra nodded then continued walking towards her chambers. When Cleopatra got to her room she let out a breath as she sat down on the bed, she ran her fingers through her hair then decided she wanted a bath before she got into bed so she sent for some servants to come and draw a bath.

When Xena and Ulysses got to their chambers an eager Gemini greeted them at the door. Xena immediately headed to the bath chamber where she ran a bath and as the water ran she rid herself of her dirty and bloody clothes and Ulysses was doing the same in the bedroom. They took their baths and went straight to bed, falling asleep in each others arms. They slept well pass noon and when they woke they sent for some lunch and just lounged about the room, not really in the mood to do much else. The scrolls Xena had asked Cleopatra for were delivered and Xena made sure to send a message to Cadell to let him know that they were leaving tomorrow morning about two hours after sunrise so that he could get his things in order.

"This has been quite the honeymoon, very exciting," Xena said with a smile as she leaned back against Ulysses while they lay in front of the fireplace. "I want to thank you for that," Xena said and Ulysses smiled at her as he sipped on his glass of wine. "You're more than welcomed, next time we'll go to Athens or maybe Rome and see what trouble we can get in to there," he said and Xena laughed at him. Ulysses smiled at Xena then leaned down and placed a kiss on her neck as he held her tight against him. "Besides all of the fighting and planning this is been the best time of my life," he whispered to her and Xena smiled as she closed her eyes and just melted into Ulysses' arms.

"It's been the same for me," she said and they stayed that way for a while, actually dosing off in those positions. When they woke for a short while it was night, the moon was high in the sky and they decided to go for a walk to be among Egypt one last time before they left. When they came back to their room, dinner was waiting for them as well as a message from the captain of their ship letting them know that everything was ready for them to leave tomorrow and that they had been in contact with Cadell. After dinner, Ulysses and Xena packed up their things then laid and bed and talked for a while before they dosed back off to sleep, needing their rest since the last couple of days hadn't been full of rest.

Morning seemed as if it came all too soon. Xena and Ulysses were up bright and early, they had their things sent to the ship and they went to the dinning hall to have one last meal with the Queen of Egypt. When they got there it was practically a feast laid out for them, "what's all this?" Xena asked with a grin and Cleopatra grinned as she stood, "I know it's not much but I wanted to show my appreciation for all that you and Ulysses have done," she said. "Cleopatra you didn't need to do this," Xena said as she and Ulysses sat down. "It was nothing," she said as she sat down at the head of the table, "how are things settling in for you?" Xena asked Arsinoe who nodded her head, "it's coming, there's a lot that has to be done, things can be changed on parchment but people still remember," she said then looked down at Cleopatra who was talking with someone else.

"I know I have a lot of work to do as far as trust goes," she said and Xena nodded her head, "change is never easy but at least you have decided to change," she said and Arsinoe nodded. "What will happen to Hotep?" Ulysses asked Cleopatra who looked at him, "he is a traitor he will die," Dagun said and Cleopatra looked at him then back at Ulysses who waited for her to say that. "He will have a trial, a chance to explain his actions, the punishment will fit accordingly," she said and Ulysses nodded his head. "Has there been any word on Ptolemy and Pothinus?" Xena asked and Cleopatra shook her head, "no, they have slipped through our fingers once again, I just hope that enough damage has been done to them that they won't be back for some time, I could really use a break from this nonsense," she said and Xena nodded her head in understanding.

As they ate they all talked amongst each other, there was even some joking and laughing at the table and Xena got the chance to see that Cleopatra was just like any other woman. Of course she had more power than any woman in her country but still none the less she was a pleasure to be around and she would prove to become a great friend to them both. When the time came they said goodbye to Dagun, Arsinoe, Ganymede and the others and Cleopatra walked them to the front of the palace where their Egyptian carriage waited for them. "Take care Cleopatra," Xena said and Cleopatra nodded, "you too Xena," she said with a nod of her head and Xena grinned as she stepped forward and gave the great Queen a hug and Cleopatra smiled as she hugged Xena back.

"You're welcomed to Ithaca any time," Ulysses told her as he placed a kiss on the back of her hand and she smiled at him. "I just might take you up on that offer one day," she said and Ulysses grinned and nodded. "Thank you both again for all that you have done, when you come back to Egypt there will be a royal feast in your honor," she said and they smiled at her before they descended down the stairs and got into their carriage. The ride to the docks was quiet and peaceful, they both looked at the scenery as they passed by, "its really beautiful here, maybe we can come back one day," Xena said and Ulysses nodded his head. "Yea but hopefully none too soon," he said and Xena grinned at him.

When they got to the docks they made their way over to their ship which was ready to go, they were just waiting on their main passengers. "My lord, my lady," the captain said as he bowed his head when they boarded the ship, "how's the weather looking today?" Ulysses asked, "great wind my lord, if this weather keeps up we could be home in a week and a half," he said and Ulysses nodded. "Cadell, you made it," Xena said as she spotted the artist near by and he grinned when he saw her. "I wouldn't pass up this chance to go home, but then again its not quite home but it's definitely close enough," he said with a grin and Xena grinned back at him. "Everyone been treating you okay?"

Ulysses asked, "oh yeah, your sailors are real nice, the captain even let me set up over there so I can paint some of what I see, you know to keep myself busy until we arrive in Ithaca," he said and they nodded. "Well that's good to hear," Xena said, "well make yourself at home, Ulysses and I are going to get some much needed rest and relaxation," Xena said and Cadell nodded and watched as they went below deck. When they got to their cabin they both let out signs of relief, something familiar. "It feels good to be back on this ship," Ulysses said and Xena nodded and she kicked off her shoes then jumped onto Ulysses' back and he smiled as he held her legs.

"How's your arm?" She asked him, "its healing," he said then smiled as Xena began kissing and sucking on his neck as he walked over to the bed. "I thought you wanted to rest," he said as he dropped her onto the bed and Xena smiled as she looked up at him. "We'll rest after we've had a little exercise," she said and Ulysses smiled at her as he pulled his shirt over his head. "I love the way you think," he said as he climbed onto the bed and Xena smiled then moaned as they shared a soft but passionate kiss. That moan would be the first of many, many moans to come.

Some time later they lay in the bed under the cover, Xena was in Ulysses' arms and she softly caressed his chest and he softly caressed her back. "How do you think things will be when we get home?" Xena asked and she remembered she had asked Ulysses that same question once before but she wanted to know if his take on that had changed. "It'll definitely be interesting to say the least especially when my father here's about what we've just done here, but I think things will be okay," he said and Xena nodded her head. "No I take that back," he said then rose Xena's chin so that he was looking into her eyes, "as long as I have you by my side things will be more than okay," he said and Xena grinned at him then kissed him softly before she laid her head back down.

"Things will be interesting and at times, probably challenging but I think we're more than up to it," Xena said and Ulysses nodded as he laid there and thought about how their lives would be when they got back to Ithaca. "The beginning of two lives as one," he said and Xena smiled at that, "I look forward to it," she said and Ulysses chuckled at her. "So do I my love, so do I," he said. When they got home things would indeed be interesting, what marriage life wasn't and with them being royalty and all, that was an invitation for more interesting and exciting things to happen to them, after all, Ulysses said it best, it was the beginning of two lives as one.

**The End**

**Continued in **

**Tale Two: The Beginning of Two Lives as One**

**Let me know what you think. **

**Negative and positive feedback is welcomed, it is encouraged. **


End file.
